Annual Report 2012

REPORT

We mean business

S C H O OL

ANNUAL

MARTTI AHTISAARI INSTITUTE TOP FORUMS AND SEMINARS

Antti Herlin and Matti Alahuhta: Challenges and Success Factors in Global Business; Case KONE Corporation, 20.3.2012 Professor Philip McCann, University of Groningen: Towards Sustainable Regional Development, 4.5.2012 Professor Eli Amir, London Business School: Accounting-based Equity Investment Strategies, 20.8.2012

3

CONTENTS

A Message from the Dean..........................................................5 Oulu Business School, Important Milestones.........................6 Oulu Business School at a Glance 2012................................10 Education......................................................................................12 Research ......................................................................................25 Alumni ...........................................................................................31 Department of Accounting........................................................36 Department of Economics........................................................41 Department of Finance..............................................................43 Department of Management and................................................

International Business................................................................47 Department of Marketing.........................................................51 Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics.............................................................................56 Research Projects: Oulu Business School..............................69

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A M E S SAG E

F R OM

FROM

THE DEAN

2012 WAS ANOTHER significant year for Oulu Business School.

We continued to work hard towards our goal of being an internationally recognized business school with rigorous research and top quality education programmes. In the past months, we took a close look at all our activities and role as business school, and redefined our mission together with our key stakeholders both from within the University and outside.

Our mission henceforward is to generate business competencies in cooperation with the scientific community, business partners and society at large. We strive to develop expertise, and foster the development of leadership qualities in our students. Through our actions and global mindset, we are participating in the development of the economy, especially in Northern Finland.

In practice, this means that we have taken and will continue to take important steps in further improving the quality of our education programmes, research and faculty qualifications, as well as services to our students and other stakeholders.

The review of our mission has led us to revise the key goals of our programmes to equip our students with the skills and competencies required in working life. In the coming years, our bachelor’s degree programme will go through a major transition to ensure it equates with the demands of working life today. We expect to continue to attract a strong student body, as the number of applicants for Finnish bachelor’s and master’s programmes increased by 8% in 2012. Our International Master’s Programmes continued to attract the most applications in the University of Oulu.

The Oulu Business School faculty has been acknowledged for the quality of its research outcomes and encouraged to conduct research with international partners. International recruitment to the faculty has increased and thereby the versatility of the expertise available at the business school.

Petri Sahlström, Professor

We have increased our connections to the business community and alumni by making an important decision to run a mentoring programme

on an annual basis for all master’s level programmes, and by arranging a series of seminars and other events on current topics. In 2012, Oulu Business School played a major role in the establishment of the startup centre, Business Kitchen, in Oulu.

Our research has been reported in several top quality publications in 2012. Moreover, our research groups were able to raise more competitive research funding than ever before. In particular, TEKES funding increased remarkably, indicating 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, which covers about 64% of our costs. Even though we have been able to expand external fundraising, the government source will remain crucial in the future. The Finnish government revised, or one could say reformed, the basis for budget funding for 2013.

At 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, internationalization is having a big impact on funding.We were ready for this change, so our faculty, staff, students and other stakeholders can rest assured they will be able to continue their important and effective cooperation activity within our community. Among our strategies, internationalization 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.

Major changes require time and effort. In this respect, Oulu Business School is particularly well-positioned. We have committed and hardworking staff and faculty, and we benefit from close cooperation with the student organization Finanssi, with other units at the University of Oulu, and international, national and regional partners like the City of Oulu, the Oulu Chamber of Commerce, the Council of Oulu Region and also numerous individuals, companies and other organizations.

Business School

OULU

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.

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.

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

2012 – Management and International Business merge.

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

2012 – Martti Ahtisaari International Doctoral Programme launched.

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

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.

2001 – Degree programme in Logistics established.

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OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL DEAN Council

SUPPORT Staff

Marketing

Management & International Business

Accounting

Finance

Economics

Mar tti 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 2012

Distribution of funding 2011

Distribution of funding 2011

Budget funding 65% Tekes 5% Other Domestic 3% Executive Education 11% Academy of Finland 2% Graduate schools 4% Structural funds 7% Other Income 3%

Distribution of funding 2012

Distribution of funding 2012

Budget funding 64% Academy of Finland 3% Tekes 9% Other Domestic 3% Structural funds 10% Executive Education 9% Other income 1%

FINANCIAL DATA (in Euros) Budgetary state 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)

2011 4 638 420 157 738 343 493 251 814 208 451 29 800 490 669 768 288 204 805 7 093 478 5 492 045 1 281 401 5 348 6 778 794 419 289 (104 605)

2% 5% 4% 3% 0,4% 7% 11% 3%

2008 16 58 22 96

2009 17 58 20 95

FACULTY STAFF Over past 5-year period Professors Teaching and research Other Total EDUCATION Activities over past 5-year period Applications/accepted 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

65%

2008

77% 18% 0,1%

2009

2012 5 266 935

64%

Change(%) 14%

277 816 748 179 10 802 242 976 0 809 449 730 173 87 640 8 173 970 6 160 480 1 589 299 5 865 7 755 644 677 685 (259 359)

3% 9% 0,1% 3% 0% 10% 9% 1%

76% 118% -96% 17%

75% 19% 0,1%

12% 24% 10%

2010 16 56 18 90

2011 16 58 26 100

2012 16 70 28 114

2010

2011

65% -5% -57%

2012

1057/198 287/48 440/17

1298/205 321/72 736/31

1634/207 348/61 567/30

1856/216 290/56 515/36

2003/200 142/41 401/55

77 185 6

129 138 4

137 161 9

122 170 4

159 238 4

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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****

2008

2009 36 50 46 83 59 17

2010 27 38 55 81 45 23

2011 33 48 51 32 54 33

2012 51 63 50 22 44 20

20 9 4 38

17 15 12 51

25 2 8 81

24 1 8 78

Distribution of Master ofof Science degrees at the University Distribution Master of Science degreesof Oulu, 2012

at the University of Oulu, 2012

Faculty of Humanities 14% Faculty of Economies 17% Oulu Business School 18% Faculty of Science 16% Faculty of Technology 21% Faculty of Medicine 14%

*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 consulting, education and position of trust

Staff Distribution

Staff Distribution 70

70 58

60

58

58

56

50 40 30 20

22 16

28

26 17

20

16

18

16

16

10 0

2008

2009

Professors Teaching and research Other

2010

2011

2012

OULU Business School

at a GLANCE 2012

Our aim is to become accredited in the near future and in 2012, our Standard Alignment Plan was accepted.

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.

Oulu Business School provides a rich portfolio of BSc, MSc (including full-time MBA and executive MBA) and doctoral study programmes to suit students at different stages of their lives.There are currently approximately 1500 students and over 100 faculty and staff members at Oulu Business School.

OUR VISION. As part of the University of Oulu, we aspire to be an international, multidisciplinary, research based business school.

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OUR MISSION. The mission of Oulu Business School is to generate business competencies in cooperation with the scientific community, business partners and society at large.We strive to develop expertise,and foster the development of leadership qualities in our students.Through our actions and our global mindset, we participate in the development of the economy, especially in northern Finland.

OUR VALUES. In all our activities, we follow the fundamental values of expertise, responsibility to self and others, and adopt a pioneering spirit.

The main financial resources in 2012 were €8,173,970 of which approximately 64% is state budgetary funding.

The most significant portion of external funding, approximately 10%, was received as income from EU structural funds like the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). Funding from the Academy of Finland and the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES) was 12% of total funding. In 2012, we had 29 ongoing research projects of which 12 were funded by TEKES and four by the Academy of Finland. Funding from the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES) increased by 118%.

Our aim is to become an internationally accredited and recognised business school. We consider achieving the AACSB accreditation as one main objective for OBS in the near future. International accreditation serves as a means to develop our education, research and other activities through international cooperation.The AACSB

Accreditation Standards are used as the basis to evaluate a business school’s mission, operations, faculty qualifications and contributions, programmes, and other critical areas.

OBS MANAGEMENT. 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 departments: Professor Janne Järvinen, Department of Accounting Professor Rauli Svento, Department of Economics

Professor Jukka Perttunen, Department of Finance Professor Petri Ahokangas, Department of International Business Professor Vesa Puhakka, Department of Management Professor Pauliina Ulkuniemi, Department of Marketing D. Econ., D.Tech.Veikko Seppänen, Director of the Martti Ahtisaari Institute

Degree Distribution Applications to Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes

Degree Distribution

Applications to Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes 2500

250

2000

1856

2003

200

238 185

1634 1500

1057

161

150

1298

1000

100

500

50

0

0

170

137

129138

159

122

77

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Applications

EDUCATION

6 2008

9

4 2009

Bachelor of Science Doctor of Science

2010

4 2011

4 2012

Master of Science

OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL is responsible for developing the knowledge and competence of its students, and for equipping them to meet the criteria required of future leaders at home and abroad.

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. The number of applications to the Finnish bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes of Oulu Business School increased by 8% in 2012. The three international master’s programmes in OBS have also been very popular for several years, generating about 400 new applications in 2012.

The number of applications to the Finnish bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes of Oulu Business School increased by 8% in 2012.

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A Message from the Vice Dean for Education OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL at the University of Oulu achieved its best educational results to date in 2012. We are very satisfied with the results. However, we are still not fully prepared. As the business environment changes, so our teaching also changes. Business studies take place in a very demanding environment: the business world of today can be described as turbulent, heterogeneous and even hostile.

The development of companies, clients and technology is difficult to predict in competitive international environments. In such business environments, traditional methods cannot be applied very successfully because the difference between competitors is created by the ability to generate new options for business operations; focusing one’s resources quickly on the opportunities they give rise to; and especially in the ability to persuade others to implement the opportunities together. The changing business environment has prompted an extensive review of our educational programmes, and we intend them to closely reflect real business life.To that end, we will be introducing students to real business environments to observe the operations of entrepreneurs and directors. We intend to provide the students with knowledge based on the latest research into the central areas of business operations, and to initiate projects where the students are able to practise their own business skills.

We feel the role of the networked way of doing business will continue to grow in the future.This will require many new skills on the part of Finnish companies and direc-

tors if they are to succeed in international business. The building of social relationships, knowledge of international business cultures and the importance of creating new business operations will grow significantly. In future, companies will have to pursue internationalisation at an earlier stage, and for that reason, it is important that we train international level business experts to meet the need. Finland is known for its competitive capacity in technology, but there remains much room for improvement in the field of business skills. Our education reform supports the strategic alignment of northern Finland to move the focus of development and education activities towards creating new business operations and leading international growth companies. We wish to participate in and commit ourselves to achieving this goal.

Vesa Puhakka, Vice Dean for Education

Our education and degree programmes are attractive and interesting.

Students in 2012 373 new students admitted: 241 into bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes 55 international master’s degree students 28 doctoral students 11 full-time MBA students 38 executive MBA students

DEVELOPING OBS through the AACSB

accreditation process

EDU C ATION

2012 WAS TRULY “the year” in terms of our AACSB Process so far. During the spring term, we worked intensively with stakeholders from within and outside the university, to hone our mission statement. We further improved and clarified our goals and objectives concerning the assurance of learning in our education programmes.

We also produced our Standards Alignment Plan, in order to identify the most important shortcomings and development needs in our Business School.

During 2012, everyone in the school got involved in the process, as we moved on to a phase where we wanted to ensure that the accreditation process did not

become a separate activity, but an essential and embedded part of our school’s normal life. For this reason, we wanted to provide a real hands-on experience with AACSB, for key individuals across all units and departments. Our team of nine faculty and staff members went to Singapore in March for four days to study the Business Accreditation criteria as well as the Assurance of Learning. After the daily discussions with business school representatives from a number of countries, our team sat down to discuss what the AACSB standards and criteria would mean in practice in our own school. It was an enlightening experience for our team.

The time in Singapore proved to be a good investment.

Soon after the trip, it was time to finalize our Standards Alignment Plan – a sort of gap analysis – and send it to AACSB for approval. In autumn, the AACSB team and everyone involved with Oulu Business School were delighted to hear our plan had been accepted. The next stage began towards the end of the year with preparations for the final round of the whole process. We have every confidence that our aim of acquiring the accreditation is within reach, in the time frame we set for ourselves. Go OBS! Sauli Sohlo, Deputy Director Martti Ahtisaari Institute

The Stor y of the

eMBA

15

THE MBA ACRONYM derived from Master of Business Administration is quite familiar to most people as an internationally recognised educational programme. The eMBA is an alternative and denotes Executive Master of Business Administration. This programme is designed for people holding managerial positions and the prefix executive also indicates that managers study on the programme while continuing to work. The essential learning outcomes of the eMBA include acquiring management skills and strategies that can be applied in many different ways in different functional units of an organisation.

The University of Oulu eMBA course was first offered in 1989, making it one of the longest established eMBA programmes in Finland. Since its inception, over 400 eEMBA students have graduated from Oulu. In addition, several companies have systematically trained their key personnel in the eMBA programme of Oulu Business School in those two decades.The programme demands a commitment of between two and three years and includes 35 seminar days in a two-year period, four or five of which will be spent abroad. Participants are able to start the programme at any time, although most begin their studies in the autumn. Each University of Oulu eMBA group is limited to a maximum of 25 participants.

The eMBA course requires participants to write two literature essays and prepare a dissertation that addresses a key development or problem area identified within their employer. This way, theory and practice is brought together, which enriches the logical approach of the participants. Successful graduates receive an eMBA certification record showing all grades awarded, and an eMBAdiploma signed by the Rector of the University of Oulu.

Programmes similar to the OBS eMBA are offered in approximately ten universities, a few universities of applied science and by some private organisations in Finland. Costs vary significantly, and it is not easy to know which one is the best. We would recommend that potential applicants look for universities that have organised these programmes for several years. They offer a relatively safe choice, both in Finland and abroad. Applicants should ensure that the programmes are run by educators with doctoral degrees, a good knowledge of business life and the skills to present issues intelligibly. Another good criterion to look for is progress towards international accreditation. Oulu Business School’s pursuit of AACSB accreditation further accelerates quality development of activities.

Matti Marttila, Programme Director (eMBA)

Challenges and

GOALS

EDU C ATION

The eMBA education, the international business practices experienced and the excursions abroad have been a major contributor to this changed state of affairs.

Jonny Kaarlenkaski, CEO of Capricode Oy.

JONNY KAARLENKASKI, CEO of Capricode Oy, describes his experiences of the eMBA programme.

“During my studies on the eMBA programme of the University of Oulu, I gained reams of new knowledge to support my practical knowledge. I met interesting people such as educators, tutors, representatives of companies et cetera. In addition, I got the chance to network widely with people in the same field of business. The people from my eMBA course still keep in touch and help each other if needed. The network formed on this program is still vibrant and provides essential capital in business and in the personal life.

I have learned to question information that is given to me, to challenge myself and to set higher goals as well as to benchmark my company’s performance against that of the best companies. At the same time, I strive to see problems from different perspectives. I have implemented the theories taught on the eMBA programme into practice in my company, but I am aware that there is still work to be done.

I have moved from being a local player to the international stage at my work. The eMBA education, the international business practices experienced and the excursions abroad have been a major contributor to this changed state of affairs. All in all, I am pleased with the education I have received and warmly recommend the OBS eMBA to all those in charge of developing business.”

TRAINING

OPPORTUNITIES

17

in OuluBusiness School OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL OFFERS grants for its degree students to finance their training in different organisations every year. The grants are intended for students who have completed about 50% of their degrees. Grants are mainly offered to support organisations that would not hire interns without a financial contribution. However, it is more important that the training support the student’s study goals and future employment. Grants are part of a training grant appropriated by the University of Oulu and allocated

by Oulu Business School.

Lauri Tervo, a fifth year economics student, was one of the almost 40 students who received the training grant. He describes his experience below: “I started the annual search for a summer job in early spring of 2012. I ended up on the University of Oulu’s Career Counseling website where I found an interesting sounding announcement for job training. It required a training grant so it inspired me to apply for one. I applied to the Ministry of Finance from where I later got an offer for training. The job description in the training announcement was impressive and fitted my experience and interests. As an economist, the Ministry of Finance is an extremely interesting job post as it is in charge of both proposing and implementing economic policy and drafting the legislation on the economy. Another factor for me in accepting the offer is that I wanted

to try working in the public sector to complement my experience gained in the private sector.

My main task was to follow debt crises and financial markets the Euro area, which meant acquiring, processing, analysing and producing information for various purposes.

The daily tasks were subject to change because of changes in the world economic situation. The great side of the job was the opportunity to work with issues that are current and relevant, a chance to put into practice skills and knowledge acquired from university studies and to learn new expertise and facts. During my training, I also started working on my master’s thesis and was offered support by the ministry’s civil servants.

Training was a very positive and instructive experience.

It supported my study by providing a topic for my thesis, confirming that this is the right field for me and increasing my motivation to graduate. Because of the training, I will consider the public sector as a potential employer. I learned and developed concrete tools for working life and I believe that the training will prove useful when applying for jobs after graduation.

I strongly recommend seeking a training grant because it offers access to positions that you otherwise would not be able to enter. In addition, my experience of training shows that you get to work on issues which you may not get to do in ordinary summer jobs.”

EDU C ATION

Oulu Business School is active at home and abroad.

IN 2012 we continued to develop our educational cooperation with 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. Oulu Business School provides global perspectives in its education by inviting well-known industry experts and renowned professors from such business schools as Tel Aviv University, Hanken School of Economics, University of Leeds 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.

Erkki Liikanen, Governor of the Bank of Finland Erkki Liikanen, Governor of the Bank of Finland, paid a visit to the Oulu Business School and to the discipline of Economics on the 5th of November 2012. The lecture attracted every one of Oulu Business School’s staff and students and resulted in a full house. Mr Liikanen gave a presentation entitled ‘The Financial Crisis and the Central Bank‘. The presentation covered the background of the financial crisis, its culmination and the potential solutions for the debt crisis. Mr Liikanen generously accepted questions from students and faculty members after the presentation.

Kari Vatanen, Quantitative Strategist from Varma Kari Vatanen, a quantitative strategist from Varma, gave a lecture on the topic ‘Performance Evaluation in the

Petteri Walldén, Chairman of the board of Nokian Tyres Plc. Investment Process‘ on 14 November 2012.The lecture was part of the ‘Portfolio Performance Analysis‘ course provided by the Department of Finance.

Petteri Walldén, Chairman of the Board of Nokian Tyres Plc. Petteri Walldén gave a professional presentation to our eMBA students, alumni and Oulu Business School staff on 23 April 2012.The topic of the presentation was how to make the work of company boards more efficient. Mr Walldén is a recognised and experienced expert with a role on several boards of enterprise. His presentation covered many important issues like the competencies required by the members of the board, internationalisation, the most important tasks as a member of a board and corporate governance.

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Name of visitor Prof. Gilad Livne

Affiliation Cass Business School, London City University

Type of visit

Topic of presentation

Guest Lecturer

Advanced Firm Valuation

Dr. Eli Amir Acting Prof. Henrik Nilsson Ass. Prof. Dr. Christian Kowalkowski (Hanken), Docent (Linköping) Chairman of the Board Eero Kaikkonen Chairman of the Board Petteri Walldén Governor Erkki Liikanen Quantitative Strategist Kari Vatanen

Tel Aviv University Stockholm School of Economics Hanken School of Economics, Finland and Linköping University, Sweden Minero Oy Nokian Tyres Plc The Bank of Finland Varma

Guest Lecturer Guest Lecturer

Performance Evaluation in the Investment Process Corporate Governance

Guest Lecturer

Service Infusion in Manufacturing: A Business Model Perspective

Guest Lecturer Guest Lecturer Guest Lecturer Guest Lecturer

Founder, CSO Juuso Nissilä

Valkee Oy

Guest Lecturer

Pricing for Location-Based Product Search – service How to make working on company boards more efficient The Financial crisis and the Central Bank Performance Evaluation in the Investment Process Effectuation logic in Entrenepreneurship- the entrepreneur’s story of business creation problem

Business Oulu

Guest Lecturer

IPR issues in international business

Fondia Oy Innozed Elektrobit Oyj Viherio Oy Polar Electro Parliament of Finland Metsä Group

Guest Lecturer Guest Lecturer Guest Lecturer Guest Lecturer Guest Lecturer Guest Lecturer Guest Lecturer

Contracting process Internationalization costs Technology-based companies in global market Lessons learned from the internationalization of a small company International expansion of a technology-based company Entrepreneurship Envisioning for Oulu Region: Post Nokia Era Program Management in a global context

Nokia Siemens Network

Guest Lecturer

Selling and sales management

University of Leeds

Guest Lecturer

International business area studies: Japan

Venture Finance and M&A Specialist Ville Heikkinen Legal Counsel Sanna Sipilä CEO Tom Laine Managing Director Hannu Huttunen Timo Pärkkä Raija Laukkanen Former Minister Kyösti Karjula Program Director Arto Rantakari Head of regional product management Teuvo Haukipuro Senior Lecturer Sierk Horn

Life in

MADRI D

EDU C ATION

ALTHOUGH I HAVE ALWAYS wanted to travel widely, Madrid was never on the list of places that I meant to visit. I could have easily named 30 cities where I would have rather gone than Madrid. Nevertheless, the spring of 2012 and the Erasmus spell in Madrid turned out to be the best spring of my life and Madrid proved to be a city which I really like and can recommend to anyone.

Universidad de Rey Juan Carlos is a fairly new university founded in 1996. Yet there are over 30 000 students in the university and all of the facilities are new. The students are able to take courses in Spanish or English but I decided to stick with English since I had plans to spend some time outside of classrooms and the library. The university worked on “Spanish-time” just like everything else there. The lectures started flexibly between five and 25 minutes late and both deadlines and even exams dates were completely negotiable. At first, it took some time to adjust to Spanish-time but eventually I got the hang of it and I learned not to be anywhere too early.

With a population of around 6.5 million, Madrid is a city always buzzing with life. People are strolling in the narrow streets of the city centre, sunbathing in parks or rowing on the pond in the Retiro Park. It doesn’t matter if you’re more a sports type or more a cultural type since there is an endless stream of different events, concerts, exhibitions and matches to see. I fell in love with the intimacy of the city centre, the carefree and positive but yet passionate and temperamental at-

titude of locals and most importantly with the people that I met from all around the world. Now I can just cherish those memories and plan the next trip to visit my friends and Madrid.

Mikko Huotari, A fifth year Accounting Student

21

Number of Exchanges to OBS, 2012 (Foreign Students)

Student Exchanges

68

12

3

3

2

3

4

4

3

3

2 0

2

2

2

2 Other countries

3

Other Countries

Exchanges (foreign students)

Czech Republic

2012

Belgium

Exchanges (own students)

2011

Spain

2010

Hong Kong

2009

France

0 2008 2007

Russian Federation

0

Germany

10

3

Portugal

4

8

7

6 4

Italy

5

Republic of Korea

6 5

China

30 20

8

8

Japan

10

Czech Republic

40

11

10

Belgium

12

Austria

52

50

14 15

Hong Kong

61

Russian Federation

65

Sweden

61

16

Spain

63

Japan

50

61

16

18

France

70 60

20

72

18

21

United States

80

20

25 87

90

Germany

Student Exchanges

Number of Exchanges from OBS, 2012 (Own Students)

EDU C ATION

Finanssi influences academic affairs proactively with the faculty in order to safeguard the quality of studies, and the association arranges all kinds of activities from soirées to excursions to local firms.

Finanssi Ry

FINANSSI (as it is known colloquially) is the association of economics and business students at the University of Oulu. The association was founded in 1991 and currently has about 1600 members. The association, also referred to as a guild, uses purple as its identifying colour, and it can be seen adorning the guild ribbon, for example. Unsurprisingly, the banknote with the highest face value in the history of the Finnish mark (FIM) was purple. The guild’s crest is based on the emblem of University of Oulu, which is intertwined with two snakes to symbolize wisdom and proactivity.

Finanssi has two significant roles in the daily life of its members: Finanssi influences academic affairs proactively with the faculty in order to safeguard the

quality of studies, and the association arranges all kinds of activities from soirées to excursions to local firms. The most notable events are the grand annual ball in which the faculty and students gather together to honour Finnish academic traditions, and the annual ‘Welcome to the Experts’ Oulu’ fair, in which business students meet with firms and explore career opportunities.

For freshmen, exchange students, and graduates, purple is the spirit that binds the guild members together, year after year.

Lauri Tenhunen, Chair of the Board of 2012

23

messut

Entrepreneurship was also emphasised as an option after graduating, and even while studying.

TOO-

ECONOMICS STUDENTS of Oulu Business School, Finanssi ry and the Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics welcomed students, faculty members and businesses to the job and entrepreneurship fair Tervetuloa Osaajien Ouluun – ‘Welcome to the Experts’ Oulu Expo’ on 9 October 2012.

The event offered students a great opportunity to identify potential future employers, learn about jobseeking, and explore the various options open to them before and after graduation. Training sessions on writing an impressive CV 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 an option after graduating, and even while studying. Students were very interested to know what kind of help and services are provided to start-ups and entrepreneurs alike by different governmental and private institutions. The fair also offered job-life based training sessions and counseling by professionals from various fields of work.

Business idea

competition

EDU C ATION

for upper secondar y students FINANSSI RY ORGANISED a business idea competition for upper secondary school students in the New Oulu region for the first time in 2012. It was held as a part of the job and entrepreneurship fair Tervetuloa Osaajien Ouluun – Welcome to the Experts’ Oulu Expo. The competition was aimed at encouraging young people to consider entrepreneurship and also offered financial support for the best ideas generated.

The business idea competition attracted media interest throughout the competition and was placed 32nd in the 100 Actions Programme that brings the Oulu area municipalities together and gives everyone the opportunity to recognise actions large or small that take the area forward and enhance the quality of life of the population.

The competition was opened to upper secondary school students in September, and almost every school in the region contributed some business ideas. Progress in the competition required innovative thinking in addition to knowledge about the economy and markets. Eventually, the entries were reduced to three finalists, who were then invited to the final of the competition hosted by Oulu Business School and the Martti Ahtisaari Institute and judged by representatives from BusinessOulu, the Martti Ahtisaari Institute, Finanssi ry, Osuuskauppa Arina and the newspaper Kaleva. The excellent quality of business ideas surprised the experienced panel of judges and signalled that the young people of the Oulu region have plenty of ideas and a well-developed sense of entrepreneurship.

The final top three in the business ideas competition:

Support service providers of entrepreneurship, such as BusinessOulu and the Business Kitchen have committed to training the finalists to mould them into the entrepreneurs of the future.

1 S T P L A C E : Julius Hintsala Madetoja Music Upper Secondary School, New type of investment fund for elderly people 2 N D P L A C E : Oskari Järvelin Upper Secondary School of Liminka, Storage and maintenance service for light and sound engineering for shows 3 R D P L A C E : Eerik Viljamaa Upper Secondary School of Oulunsalo, Downloadable mobile application for sign language

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RESEARCH

Oulu Business School produces international level research in all main business subjects. All five departments produce papers sought after by high quality international journals.

In 2012, members of the OBS faculty published in many scholarly journals including: Accounting & Finance Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal Baltic Journal of Management British Food Journal Industrial Marketing Management Information Systems Research International Journal of Advances in Management and Economics International Journal of Business and Globalisation International Journal of Business Excellence International Journal of Business Information Systems International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management International Journal of Procurement Management International Journal of Project Organisation and Management International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics Corporate Governance: An International Review Decision Support Systems Ecological Economics Economics and Business Letters

RESEARCH

B U S I N E S S K I T C H E N WA S P L A C E D 29TH OF OULU’S ‘100 ACTS’ The entrepreneurship centre, Business Kitchen, has been was placed as the 29th act in the 100 Actions programme in Oulu. The programme brings Oulu area municipalities together and gives everyone the opportunity to recognize actions large and small that take the area forward and enhance the quality of life of the population.

Energy Economics Environmental Economics European Journal of Operational Research European Journal of Forest Research European Management Journal Financial Accountability & Management Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change Journal of Behavioral Decision Making Journal of Customer Behaviour Journal of Enterprise Information Management Journal of International Business and Economy Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing Journal of Business Market Management Journal of Business Research Journal of High Technology Management Research Journal of International Entrepreneurship Journal of International Marketing Journal of Marketing Education International Journal of Music Business Research

Management Decision Management & Organizational History Marketing Intelligence and Planning Scandinavian Journal of Management Service Industries Journal Technovation The TQM Journal World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development

Business

Kitchen

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BUSINESS KITCHEN is a new entrepreneurship centre where anyone can come to develop their ideas or business with the support of a local and global network. The Business Kitchen, created by Oulu Business School and the Martti Ahtisaari Institute at the University of Oulu together with Oulu University of Applied Sciences, was established in August 2012 and the grand opening was held on 28 November 2012.

As an open innovative space,Business Kitchen offers working and co-location space for students and entrepreneurs in the heart of Oulu. Several events, training sessions and collaborative networks are employed to strengthen the entrepreneurial orientation among students and to offer business development support to entrepreneurs.

The aim of Business Kitchen is to act as a hub between universities and companies in the Oulu region. In line with the overall strategy, universities can offer their expertise and networks to support local companies and benefit from incorporating newfound knowledge of the

reality of working life and its networks into their study programmes. The Business Kitchen is an important part of the Oulu Innovation Alliance collaboration, where the shared goal is to create the best ecosystem for growthoriented SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to prosper in a lively research and innovation community.

Business Kitchen activities came out of the Oulu Growth Venturing (OGV) project promoted by the Oulu innovation alliance, the City of Oulu and the Council of the Oulu Region. Within the Oulu Business School, the Business Kitchen is a result of the close collaboration between Professor Petri Ahokangas, Director of the Department for Management and International Business (MIB) and Professor Veikko Seppänen, Director of The Martti Ahtisaari Institute.

The Business development work is carried out by the staff of Oulu Business School of the University of Oulu and the staff of the School of Business and Information Management of Oulu University of Applied Science.

The Business Kitchen menu includes events, seminars and a good portion of networking.

Development manager of the Business Kitchen, Johanna Bluemink states that ‘The key idea of Business Kitchen is to gather all entrepreneurial activities under the same roof‘. In the Kitchen, you can find, for example, Demola Oulu, the Oulu University of Applied Sciences Business Incubator, Business Blender - business development services, the BusinessOulu service desk, the Oulu Student Entrepreneurship Society, the Servo Design Centre, Business Accelerator, The Innovation Centre and several start-up companies.

RESEARCH

Demola Oulu offers real-life company projects to inter-disciplinary student teams. In Business Blender Services and the Student Incubator, tailored advice and perspectives are offered by business development experts to enable growth and internationalisation.

The SalesPan programme, on the other hand, aims to develop sales skills with other entrepreneurs.

The creation of Business Kitchen has been enabled by financing from the Council of Oulu Region and the ERDF (The European Regional Development Fund) project.

OBS faculty members served as editors or members of the editorial board of many scholarly journals, including: Finnish Economic Papers International Business and Economics Review International Journal of Electronic Business Management International Journal of E-services and Mobile Applications Industrial Marketing Management Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing Journal of Digital Marketing Journal of Information Technology Research Journal of Service Management Paths towards pioneering in service business Qualitative Market Research - An International Journal Service Business

OBS faculty members refereed submissions to many scholarly journals including:

OBS faculty members delivered many conference presentations, including at the:

Contemporary Management Research Digital Marketing Economic Theory Energy Economics Energy Efficiency Finnish Journal of Business Economics Finnish Journal of Tourism Research International Business Review International Journal of Economics and Business International Journal of Electronic Business International Journal of Hospitality Management International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management International Journal of Shipping and Transportation Logistics International Journal of Technology Management New England Journal of Entrepreneurship Journal of Business Market Management Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application Journal of International Entrepreneurship Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management Multinational Finance Journal Papers in Regional Science

GSF/FDPE Winter Research Workshop in Finance in Finland AIB UKI 2012 Conference in the United Kingdom AIB 2012 Conference in USA McGill International Entrepreneurship Conference in Italy 22nd Nordic Workshop on Inter-organizational Research in Norway 7th Nordic Workshop on Relationship Dynamics in Sweden Marketing Seminars at the University of Uppsala Business Research at Uppsala University The 5th Meeting of the IMP Group in Asia ANZMAC Conference in Australia 8th Conference on New Directions in Management Accounting in Belgium The 28th EGOS Colloquium in Finland 12th European Energy Conference, International Association for Energy Economics in Italy XXIII ISPIM Conference in Spain 28th International Marketing & Purchasing Conference in Italy OLKC 2012 International Conference on Organizational Learning, Knowledge and Capabilities in Spain 7th Organization Studies Summer Workshop - Organizations as Spaces of Work in Greece The 28th IMP Conference in Italy

29

8th Conference on New Directions in Management Accounting: Innovations in Practice and Research in Belgium 20th International Colloquium on Relationship Marketing in the United Kingdom Conference on Corporate Communication 2012 in the USA CMC 2012 Conference on Corporate and marketing communications in France Portuguese Finance Network PFN 2012 Conference in Portugal AMA Servsig 2012 International Service Research Conference in Finland 25th Bled eConference in Slovenia Research Seminar on Service Business in Finland JSBE-seminar in Finland European Regional Science Association, Annual conference in Slovakia RIRL - 9th International Meetings on Logistics Research in Canada IPSERA - International Purchasing & Supply Education & Research Association conference in Italy Industrial Marketing and Purchasing conference 2013 in Italy

EMOTIONS took me to Uppsala, SWEDEN SOME THINK that research and researchers should be objective and study their research topics as outsiders.

I am not able to do that, since I feel passionate about my current topic; emotions in challenging business relationships. Hence, I let my emotions guide me when I was thinking of where to spend my research period related to the EmoCha project.As a result, I spent a total of five months at Uppsala University.

Emotions point us to the events that matter and therefore I remember well the things that triggered strong emotions. And I do remember my time at Uppsala! Let me share some of my memories.

I remember talking Swedish, after 20 years of not using it. Believe it or not, it did slowly come back to me. However, I do admit that some of the stories at lunchtime remained a bit fuzzy, but I laughed away whenever the others did, so I don’t think anybody noticed. I even started to use scientific terms, such as survey questionnaire and doctoral student and the supervisor quite fluently in Swedish. Although the faculty is quite international, they need to be able to teach in Swedish within two years of joining the faculty. We used English only at the research seminars, because of the new doctoral students.

The research memories are also vivid. More people than I had thought were interested in emotions. I enjoyed the Uppsala lectures by professor Zahra from University of Minnesota, talking about the pathos in entrepreneurship. I also enjoyed the very informal nature of the doctoral defence I attended. However, even though the carrot cake at the defence event was tasty, I do hope that our doctoral students do not copy that particular habit but keep on having proper defence parties instead.

In spite of the good memories, there are limits to internationalisation!

Jaana Tähtinen, Professor of Marketing, Scientific leader of the EmoCha project

RESEARCH

Name of visitor

Place of visit

Type of visit

Lenght of visit

Simonen Jaakko Musial Monika Kauppinen Antti Aila Hanna Zhang Xiaotian Zhang Xiaotian Zhang Xiaotian Palo Teea Tuomela-Pyykkönen Marika Alila Hanna Lehtinen Ulla Zhang Xiaotian Tähtinen Jaana Tähtinen Jaana Zhang Xiaotian Kallunki Juha-Pekka

University of Groningen Copenhagen Business School Copenhagen Business School Murmansk State Humanities University ISM University of Economics and Management Shanghai University University of Shanghai for Sciences and Technology Lancaster University Management School Mining Institute of the Kola Science Luleå University of Technology Luleå University of Technology Harvard University Uppsala University Uppsala University University of Oxford Stockholm School of Economics UC Berkeley/Haas School of Business/Institute of Business Innovations University of Southern Denmark

Research Research Research Else Teaching Teaching Teaching Research Research Research Teaching/Research Research Research Research Research Teaching/Research

33 days 15 days 29 days 6 days 15 days 35 days 18 days 13 days 2 days 3 days 3 days 245 days 129 days 33 days 93 days 14 days

Research

405 days

Research

63 days

Morko Petri Mäläskä Minna

31

ALUMNI Combining business professionals, students and faculty.

The increase in the alumni network has been impressive since 2008.

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 prompts ideas for possible master’s theses and improves recruitment prospects for graduates. 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.

ALUMNI

Career and Alumni After noon

27.2.2013

There are different career paths, don’t be afraid of change, make wise decisions which will support your prospective employment.

Have you ever wondered what has happened to those students who have earned their master’s degree in our faculty and have quietly vanished from the corridors of the university?

OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL and the Business School Student Association, Finanssi ry organised a Career and Alumni Afternoon on the 27th of February 2012. The event offered information about life after university, introduced alumni activity to the current students and emphasised the relevance of being connected to business life and to the former students of Oulu Business School.

Facilitators at the afternoon event included Elina Koskinen from the University of Oulu Counseling and Career Services unit and three Oulu Business School alumni: Jenni Alatorvinen, Analyst at Aventum Partners Ltd; Emma Nurmela, Area Manager of Blastman Robotics Oy and Tarmo Kokkola, Service Manager of Arina Prisma Raahe. The event also included an

informative panel discussion by human resources experts from three different firms.

Elina Koskinen gave a presentation on where former students of Oulu Business School now work. Elina’s presentation led into a panel discussion on searching for work that gave students an opportunity ask questions on recruitment. The highly qualified members of the panel were Nina Mäki-Tammela, HR manager at Stockmann; Hanna-Leena Keskitalo, Takomotar (marketing, recruiting and development ) at Yritystakomo Oy and Eija Keränen, CEO and non-fiction writer at Oprosus Oy. The event concluded with presentations by three alumni on their experiences and career stories – moving from their ideas on prospective careers while they were still at Oulu Business School to where life had actually taken them. The wisdom shared by the alumni might be summarised as: there are different career paths, don’t be afraid of change, make wise decisions which will support your prospective employment.

33

Alumni Event THE ALUMNI EVENT WAS HELD on 16 October 2012 and featured three speakers – Petri Sahlström, Dean of Oulu Business School, Juuso Heinilä Chairman of the Board of Oulun Ekonomit Ry and Risto Murto, Executive Vice-President of Varma.

The Dean of Oulu Business School, Petri Sahlström, opened the event by updating the audience on the progress of the drive for the accreditation of Oulu Business School in a section entitled ‘An internationally recognised business school for Oulu?’. That was followed by the Chairman of the Board of Oulun Ekonomit Ry, Juuso Heinilä, outlining the issues involved in being an economist and how the profession is perceived today.

The keynote presentation was given by Risto Murto, Executive Vice-President of Varma. His presentation addressed the future of the Euro from the perspective of pension fund investors and emphasised how a strong euro was an essential surety for economic growth.

Throughout the event, the importance of continuing education and networking was emphasised. The significance of alumni activity was also discussed. The event was co-organised by Oulu Business School and Oulun Ekonomit ry.

Petri Sahlström, Dean of Oulu Business School.

Juuso Heinilä, Chairman of the Board of Oulu Ekonomit r.y.

THOUGHTS of Oulu Business School’s

Alumni

ALUMNI

A FORMER STUDENT of Oulu Business School, Tiina Koskela, began her studies in 1993, majoring in marketing, and graduated in 1999. She had earlier studied accounting and economics but when she started studying marketing, she found it was the field she wanted to study and to work in.

After graduation, she worked for only a year and a half in sales and marketing in Oulu and then moved to Manchester, England where she stayed for the next six years and worked as a Marketing Manager.

Her job in England was very wide-ranging: she ran her own department which included planning, budgeting, marketing, campaigns, instructing advertising agencies and printers, branding, events, and organising exhibitions. Eventually she returned to Finland and Oulu to take up the position of Marketing Manager for the newspaper Kaleva.

When Tiina came back to Oulu, she received a newsletter from Oulu Business School on alumni affairs and an invitation to an alumni event. She was pleased because, as she put it, ‘I have good memories about studying in Oulu and it was pleasant to be contacted by Oulu Business School asking me to participate in the alumni network‘. She also hopes to be able to attend more events where she can catch up with old acquaintances and also to network with new people.

Tiina Koskela is the first alumni member of the Teaching and Learning Development Team of the Marketing

Tiina Koskela was awarded alumni of the year by Finanssi r.y. in the Finanssi’s 20th Anniversary seminar in 2011.

Department. The idea is that she brings a working life perspective to educational planning. Koskela says that it is nice to share her experiences and insights and it has been rewarding to meet students and staff of the department.

Tiina Koskela is keen to emphasise that ‘a Master of Economic Sciences degree is a strong and valued qualification that brings good employment prospects regardless of the major subject. Employers think highly of work experience and a higher education degree’.

She also points out that it is important to have a comprehensive degree and a good understanding of economic sciences in addition to your own major to be successful in working life.

Oulu Business School’s First International Alumni

Ambassador s

35

STEVE XU AND ZARA LONGYE ZHANG talk about their experiences in Oulu and also what it is like to be a part of the Alumni Ambassador Programme.The Alumni Ambassador programme was first organized at the University of Oulu in 2012, and attracted several students from Oulu Business School’s English language programmes. An Alumni Ambassador is a recent graduate of the University of Oulu who collaborates with the Alumni Relations and Admissions Office on key initiatives and activities.

Steve applied to Oulu because he was interested in experiencing something new. “At the beginning, I was thinking of studying abroad and wanted to go somewhere special. What fascinated me about Nordic countries was that, even though they are small countries, they have good international business brands”.

Zara, on the other hand, already had a personal connection with Oulu and an interest in studying for a master’s degree.

“I am personally quite interested in working in business, and I was planning to study business for a master’s degree. I came to visit Oulu for around a fortnight in the summer and paid a visit to the University of Oulu. I applied to Oulu Business School late in 2010 and at the beginning of 2011. Luckily, I was admitted to the MBA Programme”.

Participants in the Alumni Ambassador programme

Steve and Zara came to Finland to study business at Oulu Business School

Steve has had good experiences of his time at Oulu “It has been an exciting and rewarding experience to study here due to the differences between Finland and Asia: the systems, the environment and the society are very different to those in Asia. Additionally the university has offered some great programmes such as Alumni Ambassador, Mentoring, and Cultural Coach. I would recommend to my friends and students to participate in these programmes because they offer great experiences and a chance to get to know new people from different places”.

Steve and Zara are both from China. Steve studied for his bachelor’s degree in Thailand and then worked inVietnam, a job which involved travelling throughout China and SouthEast Asia. Zara has studied information management and information systems, focusing on IT and finance.

The Alumni Ambassador Programme is designed to help to promote the University of Oulu all over the world.

Steve states that “As a native speaker and having the same culture, it is easier to communicate and share the experiences of Oulu with future students”.

Zara has also participated in programmes offered by the University such as Mentoring. “I participated in the Alumni Ambassador Programme to make friends and most importantly, to contribute to promoting the university in China. This programme has offered me a lot.

First of all, I have made friends and extended my personal network through this programme. Second, there were many nice experiences during the programme that I will never forget. For instance, visiting the city hall, having a formal programme graduation dinner with other alumni ambassadors, sharing really nice ideas with other active people, and so on”.

Thoughts after studying in Oulu Business School Zara: “The year-long study life in the MBA programme and Oulu Business School had a great influence on my personal and professional life. The responsible and experienced staff, the active and hardworking students, the significant learning resources, etc. makes it really worthwhile being part of the Oulu Business School”.

Steve: “It truly has been a worthwhile life experience to come here that I definitely do not regret. It is nice to come back to Oulu and every time it feels like returning home”.

Educating professionals in financial and management accounting

DEPARTMENT of Accounting

M A J O R AC H I E V E M E N T S 2 0 1 2 : • 76 Master of Science degrees • Successful research project on TimeDriven Activity-Based Costing

A message from the Head of Department Accounting is about producing information: collecting, recording and summarizing data about business and financial transactions in order to produce relevant information that can assist management, as well as other stakeholder groups, in decision making. Verified and summarized accounting reports are used by the management of a company as well as shareholders, investors, analysts, lenders and tax authorities.

Professor Janne Järvinen, Head of Department

Accounting is usually seen to consist of two separate and identifiable areas: financial accounting and management accounting. Financial accounting covers the information and reporting systems of a firm that are used by various external interest groups. In addition to practical bookkeeping and auditing, topics in financial

accounting include international accounting standards, analysis of financial statements, corporate governance, auditing theory and company valuation.

Management accounting, for its part, develops information and reporting systems needed in the decision making processes inside a firm. Work submitted for master’s dissertations in the department are often applications tailor-made to meet the specific needs of companies. The companies are provided with the latest knowledge in the field of accounting and the students gain valuable work experience. Management accounting professionals have skills relevant for developing and managing accounting systems as well as the capability to analyse information from those systems.

37

In accounting, theory and practice are in constant interaction, as the discipline is both a practice of accountants and a social science. For instance, financial accounting covers subjects as diverse as bookkeeping and the statistical testing of stock market reactions to financial statement items. Similarly, management accounting can be the application of practical cost accounting techniques and a study of how controllers and managers interact in company decision making.

Typical positions held by OBS graduates include controller, CFO, financial analyst, auditor and consultant.

Our teaching continues to attract large numbers of students from outside our faculty, for instance our introductory management accounting course is among the most popular, drawing almost 200 students from other faculties like Technology, Science and Education.

We anticipate 2013 being a highly successful year for research. Our research publications are of high quality and the externally funded Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing project has been a success. With this track record, we look forward to being evaluated in the forthcoming Research Assessment Exercise.

DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING KEY FACTS 2012 STAFF Professors Senior Research Fellow Postdoctoral Researcher University Teacher Doctoral Student Project Researcher Total

4 1 2 1 4 3 15

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

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

186/50 19/6

188/50 21/9

267/51 25/10

270/50 21/8

318/40 35/11

33 74 3

49 46 1

47 51 2

47 52 1

38 76

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

2012 6 3 1 1 3 1

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

2012 1

*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

2 8

Degrees 80

74

76

60

49 40

46

47

51

47

Advances

52

and Profitability Management 20% are making money

60% are breaking even 60%

160% 120%

are breaking Unrealised Profiteven Potential

Unrealized Profits

Actual Net Profit

Net Profits

Cumulative Net Profit

20

0

20% are losing money

200%

38

33

in Cost

ACCOUNTING

80% 40%

2008

2009

2010

Bachelor of Science * Master of Science*

2011

2012

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Figure 1. Insight provided by Cost-to-Serve

THE DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING is running a research project funded by TEKES (the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation) that aims to commercialise a new business model for cost management and profit improvement services. The project utilises the latest research and advances in the field of management accounting and information technology. This approach provides insight into true cost-to-serve and enables identification of the unrealised profit potential for small and medium-size enterprises (Figure 1).

The focus is on transaction-level costing based on actual consumption of resources using automatic data feeds from information systems and real process steps of departments to provide managers with

detailed and accurate information for business decisions.This detailed transaction-level information can be aggregated to product, customer, channel, group or other desirable levels for cost and profitability reporting.

The project is managed in cooperation with business experts and pilot customers from various industries including banking, manufacturing and distribution. So far, the pilot case study results have provided valuable insights for profit improvement and value capture.

The project is directed by the head of the Accounting Department, Professor Janne Järvinen.

* Image source: Acorn Systems and “Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing: A Simpler and More Powerful Path to Higher Profits” (Kaplan & Anderson).

*

39

Anna Elsilä’s participation in the European Accounting Association (EAA) Doctoral Colloquium and the American Accounting Association (AAA) Doctoral Consortium.

IN SPRING 2012, Anna Elsilä, a PhD student in Accounting from Oulu Business School participated in the EAA Doctoral Colloquium, which was held together with the EAA Annual Congress in Slovenia. The Doctoral Colloquium provides an important opportunity for PhD students in Accounting from European universities to present their research projects to a distinguished academic panel. The number of doctoral students participating in the Doctoral Colloquium was 36.

“It was an invaluable opportunity to participate in both of these events and I definitely learned a lot. The format of the events was somewhat different.

Each year the Faculty of the European Doctoral Colloquium also nominates two doctoral students to participate in similar doctoral events arranged in the United States and Australia. At the end of the programme the Faculty selected Anna as an EAA representative at the AAA Doctoral Consortium in the United States. The whole trip was jointly sponsored by the AAA and the EAA.

In the American Consortium, doctoral students and the Faculty took the opposite roles. Senior Faculty gave presentations, after which PhD students asked questions.The presentations gave an overview of the current state of research in the major areas of accounting, including financial accounting, management accounting, taxation and auditing. They also covered central methodologies used in accounting research,

In the European Colloquium, doctoral students presented their research projects, while the senior professors provided the feedback. A huge amount of time was devoted to doctoral students’ presentations: each of them lasted for one hour and 15 minutes. Indeed, these were very in-depth discussions.

ACCOUNTING

such as empirical archival, experimental, analytical and survey-based research designs. Additionally, each presentation contained a piece of advice about how to perform the research, outlining the future directions to explore most likely to prove fruitful and the potential traps to avoid. The senior Faculty consisted of the most cited accounting researchers, including Professor Ray Ball, whose research article published in the late 1960s is considered seminal in contemporary accounting literature.

The number of participants was about 90 including five doctoral students from outside the US. This was already the 41st annual Doctoral Consortium in US, while in Europe the Doctoral Colloquium has been held for only 28 years. All in all, this was a unique experience to meet different people and to learn various points of view, and definitely provided motivation for future efforts.�

41

M A J O R AC H I E V E M E N T S 2 0 1 2 :

DEPARTMENT of Economics

Economics is essential for business!

• Springer published the book Modern Energy Markets by Maria Kopsakangas-Savolainen and Rauli Svento.

• Professor Svento was elected into the Pool of Professors in the first round selection.

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.

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.

Professor Rauli Svento, Head of Department

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.

2012 was a very successful year for the Department and was marked by the award of two doctoral degrees and 20 master’s degrees. The topic of both doctoral theses was modern dynamic macroeconomics. They were among the first theses in this area in Finland.

Lauri Vilmi’s doctoral dissertation was awarded the University of Oulu’s annual best PhD thesis prize by the Rector of the University.

Our research results were good in 2012. We publish in high quality journals with quite high impact factors.

Our publications are in the fields of energy economics, environmental economics and dynamic macroeconomics. We have started a very interesting collaboration with the Department of Finance and the cohort research group of the medical faculty at the University of Oulu. We are interested in attitudes towards risk and risk behaviour. We study these phenomena with the data from the 46 old survey of the North Finland 1966 Birth Cohort.The first results can be expected during 2013.

ECONOMICS

Professor Mikko Puhakka became a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters.

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS KEY FACTS 2012

PROFESSOR MIKKO PUHAKKA became a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters in 2012. He is the first Professor from the Oulu Business School to be elected to the Academy. The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters was founded in 1908 in order to unite and support Finnish-speaking scientists and scholars in Finland. Ordinary membership is granted to meritorious Finnish scholars, by invitation only, and particularly outstanding individuals or patrons of science or the arts may become honorary members.

The Academy has also had the custom since 1924 of appointing foreign members.

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

22

20

18

19

18

16

20

15

15

12 12 10 5 0

5

2008

2009

2010

Bachelor of Science Master of Science

2011

2012

STAFF Professors Senior Research Fellow University Lecturer Doctoral Student Total

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

2 1 1 4 8 2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

99/28 15/3

152/35 16/7

177/35 21/10

218/36 23/7

196/30 34/10

5 16

22 18

18 15

12 12 1

19 20 2

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

2012 1

2012 5 2 5 8 7 3

*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

1 4

43

DEPARTMENT of Finance

M A J O R AC H I E V E M E N T S 2 0 1 2 : • Pekka Tolonen’s research visit to Imperial College Business School.

• Doctoral Thesis award to Juha Joenväärä

A message from the Head of Department Educating professionals in corporate finance and the securities markets

Professor Jukka Perttunen, Head of Department

2012 WAS ANOTHER STEP forward for our department. Student numbers continued to improve in many different respects. Research continued in two major focus areas. For those who like analogies, we can say that the bull market in our department kept charging ahead, with no pullback in sight.

The numbers of students and graduates keep growing.

We had our first intake of students to the five-year master’s program in finance in 2008. Those students are now nearing graduation. We welcomed another great group of students to the International Master’s Programme in Finance. We have seen excellent numbers of applications and students starting their studies for two years in a row. Our graduate pipeline looks great well into the future, for both Finnish and international students.

Our research is focused on two areas, hedge funds and investor behaviour. The following are a few of the highlights of our hedge fund research: Pekka Tolonen visited Imperial College, London, on a research exchange. Juha Joenväärä’s doctoral thesis received an award from OP-Pohjola, and Juha also received Postdoctoral research funding from the OP-Pohjola Research Foundation. The Biorisk project researching investor behaviour gathered steam in 2012. The project is a cross-disciplinary effort between our department, the Department of Economics, and the Faculty of Medicine here at the University of Oulu. We will explore the effects of biological and psychological factors on investor behaviour and risk taking. We got our first look at the data in the second half of the year, so the research is ongoing. We aim for high quality publications in the near future.

With 2012 behind us, we have high expectations for 2013. We expect a record number of graduates and major accomplishments regarding our research. Whatever happens in world markets, our bull market will continue in 2013.

FINANCE

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE KEY FACTS 2012 STAFF Professors Postdoctoral Researcher Doctoral Student Planning Officer Total EDUCATION Activities over past 5-year period Applications/Accepted Bachelor’s and Master’s programme Finnish Master’s programme (+2) Degrees Bachelor of Science Master of Science Doctor of Science RESEARCH * Scientific articles (refereed) Other scientific publications (refereed)** Activities in scientific publications*** Other publications Scientific presentations Activities related to scientific conferences

20

15

2 2 2 1 7

Degrees 15 13 10

10

8 6

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

134/20 38/11

124/20 44/12

161/21 43/10

223/30 34/9

250/30 -

15

6 1

3 8 1

1 10

5 13

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

2012

2012 1 1 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

5

5 3 1

0

2008

2009

2010

Bachelor of Science Master of Science

2011

2012

45

Juha Joenväärä received an award from OP-Pohjola Group for his doctoral thesis.

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER Juha Joenväärä’s doctoral thesis Essays on Hedge Fund Performance and Risk has been awarded the first prize in OP-Pohjola Group’s Research Foundation’s Doctoral Thesis competition. The award is worth 10,000 euros.

Oulu Business School approved Joenväärä’s dissertation in 2010, recognising it with an ‘Excellent’ grade in the process.

The dissertation studies novel methodologies, based on economic theory and the econometrics of measuring and predicting hedge fund performance and risks.

The study uses a new risk indicator for calculating systematic risk. This indicator would help regulators to discover hedge funds that potentially threaten financial system stability. The results also indicate that regulators should concentrate on factors related to the capital structure, counterparty risk and liquidity of funds, and less on leverage. Both regulators and investors would benefit from the implementation of the methods presented in the dissertation.

The thesis also shows that the performance of hedge funds can be particularly well predicted by using indicators based on both the main characteristics of the funds, such as fee structures and redemption terms, and on analysis of economic cycles.

The competition was the tenth organised by the OPPohjola Group and invites universities to enter five doctoral dissertations based on their own qualifier process to the Research Foundation’s competition.The Board of the OP-Pohjola Group Research Foundation selects the winner.

FINANCE

Senior Lecturer, Adjunct Professor Hannu Kahra joins the board of the State Pension Fund.

SENIOR LECTURER OF FINANCE Hannu Kahra has been chosen to be the Vice Chairman of the board of the State Pension Fund of Finland. He will hold the position for a three year term 1.3.2012 - 28.2.2015. The board is chaired by Minister Antti Tanskanen.

The State Pension Fund (VER) is an investment organisation. The aim of the fund is to assist the state in covering the future pension liabilities for those employees covered by the state pension scheme. The fund also acts as a means for the state to balance pension payments over the coming years. The VER receives its assets from pension contributions and from the returns from its investment activities. At the end of 2012 the VER was managing a total of â‚Ź15.4 billion in assets.

Doctoral Student visited Imperial College Business School PEKKA TOLONEN, DOCTORAL STUDENT at the Department of Finance, worked as a visiting researcher at Imperial College Business School from 1 February 2012 to 30 June 2012. Pekka worked in association with Associate Professor Robert Kosowski. The visit was part of the international research project Revisiting Stylized Facts about Hedge Funds and Database Selection Bias that started in Spring 2011. The project examines the voluntary nature of hedge fund performance, reporting to commercially available databases and the effects of database selection on empirical results.

Hedge funds are part of the class of alternative investment assets covered by very little regulation. Fund managers attract potential investors by reporting track records voluntarily to commercial databases.The first part of the project focuses on the informational quality of the five largest commercial databases and examines potential biases due to the voluntary nature of the reporting.

The project aims to provide a standard procedure on how to aggregate commercially available information.

The second part of the project tests how the database selection affects research results and if the commercial databases share similar properties with the aggregate sample. This part focuses on comparing the main questions raised in the Performance Evaluation literature across samples. The first questions whether active investment funds outperform their benchmarks consistently over time; the second investigates if outperformance is connected to fund characteristics.

Pekka received excellent research assistance during the visit. He benefited from meetings with faculty members and other doctoral students, and enjoyed living in London, a city which he described as offering something for everyone. The Department of Finance looks forward to a continuation of the research cooperation with Imperial College in the future. The research team aims to publish an article on the research in a high quality financial journal in the near future.

47

DEPARTMENT of Management and Inter national Business

M A J O R AC H I E V E M E N T S 2 0 1 2 : • Departments of Management and International Business merge.

• Seven research project funded by The Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES) ongoing in 2012.

A message from the Head of Department

Professor Petri Ahokangas, Head of Department

THE DEPARTMENT of Management and International Business – MIB – is a result of the merger of the Management and International Business units in January 2012. By the end of the year, the MIB had become the largest of the Oulu Business School departments with 36 staff and with a considerable volume of projects, external research funding and other activities; the Business Kitchen being the most visible result of those projects. Even during the first year of MIB we have seen the benefits of the collaboration in several fields. On the teaching side the two subject areas have been collaborating for years, and because of the merger we anticipate that the forthcoming renewal of the degree programs will be easy to plan and implement. Although both constituent subject areas of MIB are relatively young (the youngest, IB, was started in 2008), both major subjects remain very popular among prospective students and attract a considerable number of applicants.The number of gradu-

ates from both subject areas of MIB has been increasing and we are glad to note that the quality of masters’ theses has remained high.

Regarding research, both the number of papers published

by MIB researchers and their quality has been increasing.

MIB has formed two main research communities for the upcoming research evaluation (RAE), CRESCO and DICIE. CRESCO studies international and strategic entrepreneurial and managerial behaviours to create understanding of the practices and processes in global businesses and economies.

With an emphasis on context and action by multiple actors, uncertainties, differences and conflicts within CRESCO research are seen to create the space to develop collective opportunities. DICIE, in turn, examines the interplay of innovations, strategy and international business by focusing on the transformation of innovation based business models,

MANAGEMENT AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINES S

and value creation and capture in networks/ecosystems facilitating growth and internationalisation.

During 2012, staff from MIB have been involved in international collaboration, both in teaching and research. Highlights of this collaboration include the visits of Professor William Gartner from Clemson University, USA, Professor Joachim Wincent from Luleå Universitet, Sweden, and Professor Romeo Turcan of Aalborg University, Denmark.

40

Degrees 35

35

30

30

26 25

19

20

17 15

15

15 10

7 5 0

2009

2010

Bachelor of Science Master of Science

STAFF Professors Senior Research Fellow Postdoctoral Researcher University Lecturer University Teacher Project Manager Doctoral Student Research Assistant Total

3 4 6 1 3 2 13 4 36

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

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

390/50 115/5

527/50 148/17

581/50 161/23

696/50 138/21

684/50 52/10

4 7 2

7 15 2

17 19 1

15 30 1

26 35 1

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

2012 22 29 5 5 6 10

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

2012 14 1 1 10

*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

7

4

2008

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS KEY FACTS 2012

2011

2012

Consor tium

projects

49

of Depar tment of Management and International Business

THE DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT and International Business oversees a substantial number of projects that receive external financing. For instance, there were nine major projects in 2012 related to different consortiums of technology research. These projects are financed by TEKES (the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation) and the Strategic Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation in the Field of ICT (TIVIT).

Acquisition and operation of projects The ideas for the projects come from new project preparation sessions. These sessions bring together researchers and company representatives to propose different project ideas.

There has been a great deal of interest in such events from both companies and the universities. After the planning stage, preparation work is led by TIVIT, some key researchers and one leading ICT-company. These kinds of projects require knowledge of the technological and business context of the companies involved.

There is typically a central technological area in these projects and we bring one part – the business research – that is often about 10 to 15 per cent of the whole project funding.The research is designed in collaboration with universities and companies as a consortium.This way companies can receive subsidies for research and development and universities receive research financing.Working as a consortium improves the project’s likelihood of realization.” says Professor Petri Ahokangas.

These projects provide positions for doctoral students and also provide fruitful topics for masters’ theses and doctoral dissertations. “We aim to get more dissertations from these projects as they enable us to provide positions for doctoral students”, says Professor Ahokangas. Doctoral students also work as project managers and learn to prepare projects, see how they are constructed, build networks with companies and learn about colleagues in other faculties and all over Finland.

Doctoral student Jenni Myllykoski describes operating in a Cloud Software programme as follows: “The project began in 2010 and our department engaged in the project in 2011. We have had quarterly review meetings attended by researchers and companies. The meetings consist of discussions of research results and various presentations. The project is rather technically based – the majority of researchers comes from the technology environment.

As a matter of fact, Oulu Business School, the University of Jyväskylä and VTT are the sole researchers on the business side. In addition, we have a business community of practice in which business researchers form a smaller research group.

For instance, we have had shared cases wherein we have researched same companies. 2013 is the last year of this project, so the results are accumulated in the final year.”

MARKETING

DEPARTMENT of Mar keting

M A J O R AC H I E V E M E N T S 2 0 1 2 : • 94 Master of Science degrees

A message from the Head of Department

Professor Pauliina Ulkuniemi, Head of Department

MARKETING IS TO A LARGE EXTENT about exchanges between organisations and between people.

The object of exchange may be products, services, money, knowledge, relationships, emotions, and experiences and so on.Various exchanges take place all around us in everyday life, whether we are working or spending free time. Exchanges are also at the core of cooperation. In the current networked world, cooperation can be seen as being the key activity for individuals and organisations wishing to flourish and innovate. For scientific communities, once strongly characterised by individualized expertise and hierarchies, the role of cooperative behaviour has become the key issue as well. As researchers and teachers, we are increasingly required to work together and with other stakeholders in many ways. Therefore, if one major theme describes 2012 for the Department of Marketing, it is cooperation.

To fulfil our purpose as a part of the University, in research we need to cooperate internally, nationally and internationally with the researchers in our field. In teaching, we need to work together with the students and with firms to provide the students with relevant learning experiences. In addition, to develop teaching, we need to work together with other teachers to build up strong programmes for the future. To fulfil our duties in terms of having an impact on the community, we need to build up cooperation with various different actors in our area. The Department of Marketing has been working in all of these areas to fulfil its purpose during 2012.

In 2012, we provided the surrounding community with more marketing experts than ever before, with a record 94 new

51

Cooperation with business and having an impact on the surrounding community has continued to be on our teaching and research agenda.

master’s graduates specialized in marketing. When they leave the University, graduates are equipped with multiple skills and a broad knowledge of marketing.

During their master’s thesis work, they have typically also solved managerial problems for their case firms.

Our work has also provided many other forms of impact to the surrounding businesses. During 2012, we continued to integrate more and more real-life examples into course assignments to increase the managerial relevance of our teaching. As an example, in one of our largest courses, Product and Market Strategies, about 190 students worked on an assignment to solve the marketing challenges faced by the ski resort at SyĂśte. The assignment enabled the students to learn through a real-life example and for a real purpose, and the case firm gained numerous innovative ideas through the exercise. Overall, cooperation with business and having an impact on the surrounding com-

munity has continued to be on our teaching and research agenda.

In research terms, 2012 continued the successful record of the Department of Marketing, with a steady development in the number and quality of publications and also the amount of external research funding. Researchers from the department contribute to various inter-disciplinary research communities, and the majority of those researchers are associated with a community which brings together researchers from marketing, international business and management.

So 2012 marked the beginning of planning new programmes, new research strategies and so on. The actual work however, has only just begun and it is critical that cooperative behaviour among researchers, teachers and other stakeholders continues as we address 2013 and beyond.

MARKETING

DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING KEY FACTS 2012 STAFF Professors Senior Research Fellow Postdoctoral Researcher University Lecturer University Teacher Project Manager Doctoral Student Project Researcher Research Assistant Total

Degrees 100

5 2 3 1 1 1 15 2 3 33

90 80

73

60

49

50

248/50 67/8

307/50 60/10

448/50 98/13

449/50 74/11

555/50 21/10

35 73 1

49 53

52 68 5

47 66 1

71 94

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

2012 22 29 38 8 28 6

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

2012 7

2009

2010

*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

2012

40

53

52

66

47

35

30 20 10 0

4 51

71

68

70

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

2008

94

2008

2009

2010

Bachelor of Science* Master of Science*

2011

2012

53

ModuServ – Modularity in Business Ser vices to Co-Create Value within Collaborative Networks

THE MODUSERV PROJECT is conducted by the Department of Marketing and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and is financed by TEKES – the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation through the Serve program 2011-2013. The overall purpose of this project is to describe, analyse and evaluate how value is co-created in business services through modularity and collaborative networks.

The project is run in close collaboration with three companies: Kiinteistöhuolto Jurvelin, PCS Engineering and Pöyry Finland. The project has so far generated three master’s theses. Dr Christian Kowalkowski, Assistant Professor, Hanken School of Economics, Finland and Associate Professor (part-time), Docent (MSc, LicSc, PhD) in

Linköping University, Sweden was a guest of the Department of Marketing and the ModuServ project on Thursday 9 February 2012.

tion As The Basis of a Business Plan.The successful event provides a baseline for the research collaboration in the project in 2013.

Dr Kowalkowski gave a lecture entitled Current Issues in Service Marketing on how the business sector seeing a change from industrial companies to the services demands a new perspective on business models and value creation. Dr Kowalkowski returned in April as a guest of the ModuServ project to give the keynote speech in a seminar on the service sector. He presented his service research in the ModuServ seminar under the theme Service Orientation And Service Logic: Similarities And Differences. In October, a workshop was arranged for the company partners with the theme of Value Proposi-

More information is available from the Project Director, Associate Professor Saara Pekkarinen, saara.pekkarinen(at)oulu.fi

MARKETING

Staff of the Department of Marketing.

55

Focus on Barents Business and Logistics OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL acts as the lead partner in the Barents Logistics 2 project, a cross-border effort directed at increasing logistics competence and facilitating business development in the Barents Region. The international partners in the project include Luleå University of Technology in Sweden and the Arctic Training Centre together with the Murmanshelf Association in Murmansk, Russia. The project is funded by the ENPI Kolarctic CBC Programme and national co-funding organisations. The project duration is three years and it will continue up until March 2014.

Various educational, network building and research related activities were organised during 2012 in accordance with the project objectives. A logistics seminar and training session was organised in Sweden on 15– 17 October 2012. Representatives from Russian, Finnish and Swedish companies and public organisations, as well as university personnel and students, enjoyed a fascinating seminar organised by Professor Anders Segerstedt of the Technical University of Luleå. Participants were also treated to interesting company visits in Luleå and Skellefteå.

Regional seminars and workshops have also been organised in all three countries, for instance at Kalajoki, Finland on 5 November 2012 a seminar addressed

The project has offered an opportunity for doctoral students in Sweden and Finland to focus on issues related to business and logistics in Northern Regions.

business challenges and opportunities in the Barents Region. Project partners from different countries have given presentations in these regional seminars and have also been guest speakers at university lectures.

The project has offered an opportunity for doctoral students in Sweden and Finland to focus on issues related to business and logistics in Northern Regions. In Finland, Doctoral Student Marika Tuomela-Pyykkönen examines the purchasing and procurement practices in the mining industry – a growing business sector all

over the Barents Region. Doctoral Student Hanna Alila studies the business conditions and success factors of companies that operate in these regions with a particular focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.

Several master’s thesis projects have also been completed or are in progress in the project.

At the University of Oulu, the project is a joint undertaking between the marketing and international business departments. More information about the project can be found at www.barents-transport.fi.

MARTTI AHTISAARI Institute of Global Business and Economics

THE MARTTI AHTISAARI INSTITUTE, established in 2008, focuses on research, innovation and education related to global economics and business. The Institute is part of Oulu Business School and is at the same time one of the centres in the Oulu Innovation Alliance, formed by the University of Oulu,VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the City of Oulu and the Oulu University of Applied Sciences.

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

Looking back on 2012, several new activities developed quite rapidly within the institute. At the same time, some other activities were clearly maturing and becoming established as the basic operations of the institute. Common to both of these was collaboration with both domestic and international partners.

The three strategic research programmes of the institute progressed to their final phase. In the case of Mergers and Acquisitions as a Strategy for Growth (MASG), this meant deepening the joint work with

London School of Economics and Professor Eli Amir becoming a part-time visiting professor of the business school. Based on the work of the Energy, Biodiversity and Natural Resources (EBN) research programme, a widely-lauded book on the development of global energy markets was published, among other publications.

The Oulu Growth Lab (OGL) programme resulted in the launch of the OGV project, which gave rise to a new business support centre, the Business Kitchen as part of the Oulu Innovation Alliance collaboration.

The Martti Ahtisaari International Doctoral Programme was launched in 2012, and six students were selected from twenty applicants.They address research topics ranging from responsible management to digital service business, corporate governance, emergence of economic activities in post-conflict areas, venturing of new start-ups and the monetary policy of one of the biggest central banks in the world. The students come from Germany, Pakistan, Ukraine, China and Finland.

57

M A J O R AC H I E V E M E N T S 2 0 1 2 : • The Martti Ahtisaari International Doctoral Programme was launched in 2012

The institute has for some time facilitated three international master’s programmes, on which around 40 new students from all over the world embark every year. The Finance programme focuses on corporate investments and finance, as well as financial analysis, whereas Financial and Management Accounting is divided into financial and management accounting, offering insights into the decision making and different systems of accounting. The International Business programme, addressing processes, management and development of international business from various perspectives, has been among the most popular at the University of Oulu. In 2012, mentoring was extensively developed as part of the programmes, involving the alumni community of the business school. The results were reported to be excellent by both the mentors and the mentees.

Executive education programmes and education exports to the United Arab Emirates continued. Competition and economic slow-down affected the activities

somewhat, but these same factors are also very good reasons to develop and offer management education services for the benefit of prospective students. The results of the full-time MBA programme were very promising not only in terms of the quality of the grades, but also in more general terms, and the programme remains one of very few of its type in Scandinavia.

Last but not least, in 2012, a considerable milestone was achieved in the accreditation project coordinated by the institute together with the dean. There are very good prospects for the future regarding accomplishment of the business school accreditation process, which would be a major result from the viewpoint of the university as a whole, too.

Intensive networking by the institute included deepening the collaboration with the Globally Responsible Leadeship Initiative (GRLI) network, as well as initiating research cooperation with the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) organisation established by President Ahtisaari.

MARTTI AHTISAARI INSTITUTE

Martti Ahtisaari Institute Managing Board 2012: 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 Institute, Secretary of the Board

MARTTI AHTISAARI INSTITUTE OF GLOBAL BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS KEY FACTS 2012 STAFF Director Deputy Director Programme Manager Programme Coordinators Project Coordinator Total EDUCATION Activities over past 5-year period Applications/Accepted FMA MF IB Degrees from International programmes FMA* MF* IB* 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

1 1 2 2 2 8 2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

114/4 148/5 178/8

172/9 220/12 344/10

104/9 149/7 314/14

106/9 120/13 289/14

69/11 103/19 229/25

5 -

5 -

5 2

7 2 5

5 4 3

20 8 2

27 7 10 5

24 9 6

2

*FMA = International Master’s Programme in Financial and Management Accounting *MF= International Master’s Programme in Finance (Includes also students of Finnish MSc programs since 2012) *IB= International Master’s Programme in International Business (Includes also students of Finnish MSc programs since 2012)

Mar tti Ahtisaari Institute launched New International Doctoral

Programme

59

THE MARTTI AHTISAARI INSTITUTE of Global Business and Economics expanded its business education and research portfolio through the launch of the new Martti Ahtisaari International Doctoral Programme in 2012. The programme enhances high quality research and education in global business and the sustainable economy in the sphere of influence of the University of Oulu and supports the internationalisation of the university.The programme also expands the portfolio of degree programmes available in English in the University of Oulu.

The programme involves doctoral studies of global business, focusing on the management of growth or the sustainable global economy. Management, International Busi-

ness, Marketing, Economics, Accounting or Finance must be chosen as the main subject area of study.

The first six doctoral students were chosen from among numerous high quality international applicants in spring and summer of 2012.

• Mr Jan Hermes, International Business; research focus ethically sustainable business • Mrs Anna Elsilä, Accounting; research focus executive compensation • Mrs Anne Keränen, Management; research focus responsible leadership • Mr Waqar Nadeem, Marketing; research focus interactive technologies in the retail industry of developed and developing countries

• Ms Riikka Nuutilainen, Economics; research focus monetary policy in emerging economies • Ms Fan Wang, International Business; research focus venture capital financing and new venture internationalisation The students, Anna Elsilä, Jan Hermes, Anne Keränen, Waqar Nadeem, Riikka Nuutilainen and Fan Wang, first gathered together with the responsible professors and Martti Ahtisaari Institute programme coordinating staff at a kick-off event earlier in the autumn.

The students have since further discussed their research plans and progress in personal meetings at the Martti Ahtisaari Institute and attended international conferences.

MARTTI AHTISAARI INSTITUTE

400

344 314

300

289 229

220 200

148 100

178 172

149

114

0

106

104

2008

2009

69

2010

FMA

103

120

2011

MF

IB

28

25 24 20 16

14

13

12 8

8

0

TOP FORUM: Challenges and Success Factors in Global Business; Case KONE Corporation 20.3.2012

19

12

4

9

10

9

2008

FMA

14 11

9 7

5

2009

2010

MF

Bring together representatives of business life and universities.

2012

Accepted to International Master’s Programmes

4

Mar tti Ahtisaari Institute Top For um and

seminar s

Applications to International Master’s Programmes

2011

IB

2012

The Top Forum, organised by the Martti Ahtisaari Institute on 20 March 2012 featured keynote presentations on global business by Antti Herlin, Chair of the Board of KONE Corporation and Matti Alahuhta, President and CEO of KONE Corporation. The event was attended by over 500 participants from businesses, public administration and the academic community in Northern Finland.

An interview with Antti Herlin, currently Chair of the Board, but a KONE employee for a quarter

of a century, spanned the history of the KONE Corporation throughout the twentieth century and beyond.

Antti Herlin described the 1990’s as a time when all the necessary components for global success were already there, but the overall picture was not yet clear.

Issues around recruitment and retention of international experts, ways of entering new market areas and adjusting to new cultures posed challenges to KONE’s internationalisation. An additional challenge was the harmonisation of the constantly expanding KONE network. While these problems were being solved, the diversified conglomerate KONE began to specialise in elevators and escalators. Antti Herlin was interviewed

by John Simon.

KONE’s President and CEO, Matti Alahuhta described KONE’s operations from 2000 to the present day in his presentation. KONE now operates almost globally. Alahuhta believes that at the core of

61

KONE’s competitiveness is its desire to deliver to its clients the best People Flow experience.

KONE’s competitiveness is its desire to deliver to its clients the best People Flow experience. The cornerstone of success of a company is competent personnel. Alahuhta stresses the importance of establishing a well-functioning combination of people of different ages and expertise, as well as various viewpoints and backgrounds. It is then the management’s task to lead them to work together as a team with a common goal. Matti Alahuhta summarised the key to success: developing the company way of operating in such a way that people feel they can grow and develop, which will result in respect for other people and for the company.

Comments on the keynote presentations were provided by Juha Vidgrén, Chairman of the Board of Ponsse Plc, and Harri Suutari, President and CEO of PKC Group. Both keynotes were followed by a lively open discussion.

Martti Ahtisaari Institute scholarships were also presented at the Top Forum to a number of Oulu Business School students in recognition of excellence in studies, research company collaboration or business competitions (CFA Global investment Research Challenge).

Martti Ahtisaari Institute’s Director Veikko Seppänen and Deputy Director Sauli Sohlo presented scholarships.

Antti Herlin, Chair of the Board of KONE Corporation, interviewed

by John Simon.

Matti Alahuhta, KONE’s President and CEO.

Mar tti Ahtisaari Institute Research Seminar

SERIES

MARTTI AHTISAARI INSTITUTE

IN 2012, the Martti Ahtisaari Institute launched a series of research seminars. The Martti Ahtisaari Institute Research Seminar Series will present high level experts and their research on current topics in business and economics, as well as societal issues. The research seminars aim to increase awareness of the most recent research outcomes and facilitate Oulu Business School’s research faculty’s interaction with the Finnish and international research community, as well as business representatives and other stakeholders.

velopment and as an advisor and consultant to governmental and international organisations. Other speakers at the seminar were Professor Rauli Svento and Postdoctoral Researcher Jaakko Simonen of the Academy of Finland.

The first research seminar was organised on 4 May 2012:

The second seminar in the Martti Ahtisaari Institute Research Seminar Series discussed accounting-based equity investment strategies. In the seminar, Professor Eli Amir from London Business School presented his research on Conditional Persistence and Accounting Anomalies.

Towards Sustainable Regional Development The seminar discussed sustainable regional development from a variety of angles. The keynote speech by Professor Philip McCann examined the redesign of EU Cohesion policy. Regional economic growth was discussed in terms of the role of ICT industries and the aspect of specialisation and diversity. The seminar was directed in particular to public authorities and researchers interested in regional economic development.

Professor Philip McCann.

The keynote speaker, Professor Philip McCann from the University of Groningen, presently works as an advisor to EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn. Professor McCann has many years of experience as a researcher of regional economic de-

The second Martti Ahtisaari Institute Research Seminar, 20 August 2012: Accounting-based Equity Investment Strategies

Dr Amir is currently Professor of Accounting at the London Business School and a visiting Professor at Oulu Business School. Having graduated from Tel Aviv (BA) and the University of California, Berkeley (MSc, PhD), he has also worked at Tel Aviv University, at Columbia University and has served as the Chair of the Israel Accounting Standards Board.

Dr Amir has published widely in a variety of journals.

His research interests focus on the role of accounting information in capital markets, particularly in equity valuation, reliability of accounting figures, financial statement analysis, the value of auditor independence

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in capital markets, asset allocation in UK pension funds and the contribution of analysts to equity valuation.

The third Martti Ahtisaari Institute Research Seminar; 1 October 2012 Consumer Marketing & Issues in Finance The October 2012 seminar in the Martti Ahtisaari Institute Research Seminar Series focused on two themes: Consumer Marketing and Issues in Finance with presentations by a number of visiting and Oulu Business School academics.

In the first part of the seminar day, Associate Professor Simona Botti from London Business School presented her research on the psychological processes underlying freedom of choice and their effects on consumers’ judgments and behaviours. Simona Botti provided an overview of different research projects and commented on the pitfalls that beset experimental research, but also on its advantages. Oulu Business School professor, Timo Koivumäki discussed his work with field trials in consumer research.

The second part of the seminar day addressed finance.

Visiting academics Professor Ji-Chai Lin from Louisiana State University discussed his research on takeover vulnerability and long-run performance following open-market share repurchases, and Tapio Pekkala, Senior Investment Analyst at Norges Bank Investment Management, focused on investment capacity.

MARTTI AHTISAARI INSTITUTE

In 2012, several business seminars were arranged on a variety of topics with different partners.

The Role of Entrepreneurial Environment in Growth Venturing: Comparing Israel and Finland

Business Seminar s:

The seminar compared growth venturing and start-up environments in Israel and Finland. Keynote speeches were given by Dr Eyal Benjamin, from the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo, and Project Manager Sakari Sipola of Oulu Business School. The seminar was organised in April in the newly established start-up centre, the Business Kitchen, and attended by a number of start-up enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

The economy today discussed at the Oulu Chamber of Commerce seminar The Oulu Chamber of Commerce organised its 11th annual seminar on 6 September 2012. The

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seminar was organised in cooperation with Ernst & Young and the Martti Ahtisaari Institute. It was attended by 250 people from business, public administration and higher education institutions in the region and focused on the current economic situation.

Several expert presentations addressed the Finnish and international economic situation and outlook.

The topics were discussed from several angles, as the keynote speakers represented business, policy and research. They were, Jari Karppinen, Partner at Ernst & Young, Mikko Puhakka, Professor of Economics at Oulu Business School, the University of Oulu, CEO Pertti Korhonen from Outotec and State Secretary Raimo Sailas from the Ministry of Finance.

policy and the role it plays in the Oulu Region, the Economic Forum on the second day was jointly organised by the Martti Ahtisaari Institute.

Firm’s growth - where there’s a will there’s a way; 1 October 2012

The 2012 graduation ceremony for the executive education programmes at Oulu Business School was held on 18 June at the Oulun Uusi Seurahuone restaurant.

The seminar organised by BusinessOulu, Business Kitchen and the Martti Ahtisaari Institute provided first-hand insights into the transformation from a corporate person to an entrepreneur; the Israeli entrepreneurial success story; and the other side of business decision making: examples of unpredictable, unplanned decision making as a possible path for growth. Postdoctoral Researcher, Anita Juho from Oulu Business School was one of the speakers at the seminar.

Oulu Regional Summit The Council of the Oulu Region’s annual Oulu Regional Summit took place 5–6 November 2012. While the first day of the event focused on European regional

The Economic Forum focused on growth and internationalisation. Keynote speakers were Kari Häyrinen, CEO at Finpro, Mari Pantsar-Kallio, Programme Director at Finnish Cleantech Cluster, and Veikko Seppänen, Director of the Martti Ahtisaari Institute.

Pauliina Ulkuniemi, Oulu Business School’s Professor of Marketing, was also a member of the panel.

University of Oulu Executive Education students and lecturers awards

The event included an award recognising the teaching of Dr Satu Nätti. She specialises in business-to-business (B2B) marketing and network theory. Her research focuses on professional services, customer-related knowledge management, key account management and innovation networks, B2B marketing and company branding.

Among the roll call celebrating the achievements of 23 executive MBA and 8 full-time MBA graduates and ten graduates from specialized executive education programmes, Ms Jaana Karjalainen from Pharmatory Ltd was awarded the prize for best of class in the Executive MBA programme, while Mr Petri Särkelä was recognised for achieving the highest grades from the international

MARTTI AHTISAARI INSTITUTE

full-time MBA programme. Ms Zara Longye Zhang from the full-time MBA programme was recognised for her excellent study performance.

vided for the first time for full-time MBA students.

The mentors have provided our international MBA students with guidance related to working life skills and career development.

The event was also attended by six eMBA alumni and an eMBA student, who had acted as mentors in the past semester’s mentoring programme, pro-

The mentoring programme aims to support the students in their study and career related decisions and career planning.

The mentoring programme was run again in the 2012 - 2013 academic year. This time the programme was opened to all the students of Oulu Business School.

The mentoring programme aims to support the students in 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 career choices, and the skills required to be successful in business today.

Mentoring Programme IN THE 2011 - 2012 academic year, Oulu Business School and the Martti Ahtisaari Institute launched a mentoring programme designed for students on International Master’s Degree Programmes.

The programme started in October 2012 and will continue until May 2013. The activities include group meetings organized by the University as well as private sessions between student and mentor.

Comments on The Mentoring programme “I would certainly recommend this programme because if you are ready to devote just some time for this,

you will gain much by meeting people, making new contacts and exchanging ideas”. - Jari Pirinen, Vice President of Finnvera “When I heard about this mentoring programme, I was truly interested. I had hoped for this kind of programme and there wasn’t one in the years when I was studying.

This is a way to share my life experience with young students”. - Juha Matilainen, Private Banker of Taaleritehdas “In my opinion the mentoring programme is something that every student should try and witness. This is a great way to get a more practical side to one’s education which otherwise might be difficult.” -Atte Keloneva, third year accounting student

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Full-time MBA student, Evgenii Iakovlev

EVGENII IAKOVLEV is a 26-year-old full-time MBA student at Oulu Business School and is from St. Petersburg.

When I decided to take up the full-time MBA programme, I was looking for this programme in several places. I wanted to take this programme in Scandinavia yet there are not so many MBA-programmes in English in this area.

Evgenii found out that there was a full-time MBA programme offered in Oulu.

“I have visited Finland many times because it is close to St. Petersburg. So one of the reasons why I applied to study at Oulu Business School is its relative proximity to St. Petersburg. Furthermore, I knew that the education system in Finland is very good and well-known. Also I had an additional motivation to learn Finnish which is good for employment because of the growing economic relations between Russia and Finland.

The atmosphere is perfect in the classes and all over the university.

I have studied economics and graduated four and half years ago from university in St. Petersburg. After graduation, I worked for a logistics firm. Logistics is a growing business and an attractive field to work in. Even though I had an economics background and did not have so much experience in logistics, I was able to work there due to my languages skills. For the first two years I worked in a Dutch company and my work was related to shipping lines, transportation and forwarding issues. After that, I wanted to improve my skills and I moved to a Swedish company where I worked for two years. There my tasks were connected for example with supply chains and transportation.”

After working four years, Evgenii decided to slightly change the direction of his career and consequently chose to enrol on the MBA programme.

Evgenii has enjoyed his time in Oulu. Every day there is something new.

“The atmosphere is perfect in the class and all over the university. Last semester I had about seven courses and it was very intensive and interesting. Of course, after almost five years of working life, I had forgotten the best ways to study. However, on this programme, it has been easy to start studying again with the help of the programme coordinator, professors and other members of staff. In addition, we have a really nice group in the full-time MBA programme. We help each other and we are really like a big multinational family.”

The programme has met Evgenii’s expectations.

“I am really satisfied and confident that this programme gives me an opportunity to begin something new. I will gain more skills and experience which will help me to find the ideal work for me.”

MARTTI AHTISAARI INSTITUTE

Collaboration with medical technology companies Oulu Business School’s International full-time MBA programme and BusinessOulu commenced a collaboration scheme to help medical technology (MedTech) companies in the Oulu region with their internationalisation challenges.

Several companies representing the MedTech industry have been chosen as target companies in the MBA project work process. The highly international MBA student group will in the course of their studies assist the chosen companies with their planning and initiatives to enter international markets through clearly defined and focused project assignments. The collaboration provides the companies with access to an international consultant team of experienced and skilled management students until the end of the spring semester.

RESEARCH PROJECTS: OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL

INWORK – Managing and Measuring Innovation at Work

Duration: 01.01.2012 – 31.12.2013 Committed funding: EUR 96 360 Description of project: The purpose of the multidisciplinary project, funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES), is to study and develop the management and measurement of innovative work and customer practices. The project focuses both on current work practices and future trends of work, and has a special emphasis on SME. In addition to its research purposes, the project has two important practical goals. First, a key part of the project is to develop collaborative (and innovative) work practices by the research group comprising research teams from six Finnish universities. Second, the research group jointly provides the managers and employees of Finnish organisations with new knowledge on how to support and manage innovation at work.

Research consortium or cooperation partners: Aalto University; Lappeenranta University of Technology, the University of Turku, the University of Eastern Finland, the University of Lapland, WeTell Networks Ltd., Novia Finland Ltd.; OBS team: Professor Vesa Puhakka; Postdoctoral Researcher Antti Kauppinen and Doctoral Student Anniina Rantakari.

Anticipated results of project: The knowledge will be distributed in workshops, seminars and as an Innovation Practice Handbook.

Contact person: Professor Vesa Puhakka (vesa.puhakka@oulu.fi)

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TDABC – Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing for SMEs

Duration: 01.05.2012 – 31.12.2013 Committed funding: EUR 378 000

Research consortium or cooperation partners:

Description of project: This TEKES-funded project researches and develops a feasibility analysis model for Time-Driven ActivityBased Costing implementations. The model will enable target companies to assess the level of suitability for the method and receive an estimate of the expected profit improvement. The feasibility analysis model is an essential part of the cloud service based business model that is being researched and built based on best practice in the field. The aim of the project is to launch new business in Finland and to improve the competitiveness of companies through the research.

Aalto University; Lunacon Ltd, Esmo Ltd; Acorn Systems; OBS team: Professor Janne Järvinen; Professor Petri Ahokangas; Project Manager Kim Väätäjä; Project Researchers Jukka Piirainen and Johannes Kari; University Teacher Lauri Haapanen; Senior Researcher Kari Jussila and Senior Research Fellow, Pasi Ojala.

Anticipated results of project: New start-up business, conference papers and scientific articles in refereed international journals.

Contact person: Project Manager Kim Väätäjä (kim.vaataja@oulu.fi)

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INDICO - Individualized Connected Health

Duration: 01.08.2012 – 31.12.2013 Committed funding: EUR 77 000 Description of project: The aim of this TEKES-funded project, is to produce a roadmap of different service concepts addressing individual citizens, business companies (for occupational health care, consumer health services) and public health and care organisations, including a full analysis of new financial models. It is a multidisciplinary approach considering how individuals can improve their health by having access to health data. In addition, economic evaluations are used to assist in setting priorities for resource allocation decisions and designing services when there are competing health interventions and limited resources.

Research consortium or cooperation partners: Project Coordinator Marita Perälä-Heape, Director of the Centre for Health and Technology (CHT);

Computational Medicine Research Group; University of Oulu Institute of Biomedicine: Oulu University, Biology Department; Oulu University, Centre for Wireless Communications; OBS team: Senior Research Fellow Saara Pekkarinen; Professor Veikko Seppänen; Professor Pauliina Ulkuniemi; Senior Research Fellow Satu Nätti and Doctoral Student Minna Lappi.

Anticipated results of the project: The scientific results of this project will be published in appropriate scientific forums and the project will also disseminate its vision by presenting it at various relevant events.

Contact person: Senior Research Fellow Saara Pekkarinen (saara.pekkarinen@oulu.fi)

Value Co-creation in Technological B2B Services

Duration: 01.09.2011 – 30.06.2015 Committed funding: EUR 290 000 Description of project: The project, funded by the Academy of Finland, studies a promising and current field of research, value co-creation in technological B2B services.

The rapid development of information technology is one of the main forces changing the current business environment. The objective of this research project is to boost the research on cocreating value through collaboration within business networks in the context of technological B2B services. The research phenomenon is divided into three interrelated themes: 1) value co-creation, 2) technological B2B services and 3) business models.

Exploring value co-creation, customer perceived value, and existing and potential business models, is central to acquiring better understanding of how firms can utilise the opportunities provided by

new technological services and how to successfully cooperate within this emerging business field. This research is highly beneficial for marketing research and is also valuable in practical terms for Finnish companies.

Research consortium or cooperation partners: Professor Wesley Johnston, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University; Professor Louise Young, University of Western Sydney; Postdoctoral Researcher Hanna Komulainen.

Anticipated results of project: Scientific articles in refereed international journals.

Contact person: Postdoctoral Researcher Hanna Komulainen (hanna.komulainen@oulu.fi)

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OGV – Oulu Growth Venturing

Duration: 01.12.2011 – 31.12.2013 Committed funding: EUR 485 406 Description of project: The project, funded by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund), Oulu Innovation Alliance, City of Oulu and the Council of Oulu Region, aims to establish a new entrepreneurship centre where anyone can come to develop their ideas or business with the support of a local and global network. The key idea of the Business Kitchen is to become a hub between the universities and companies in the Oulu region.

Research consortium or cooperation partners: Oulu University of Applied Sciences; Local companies; Oulu Innovation Alliance, City of Oulu and Council of Oulu Region; OBS team: Professor Petri Ahokangas; Professor Vesa Puhakka, Senior Research Fellow/ Development Manager Johanna Bluemink, University

Teachers Lauri Haapanen, Sauli Pajari and Sakari Nikkilä; Project Manager Petteri Lahtela, Doctoral Students Hanna Okkonen and Irene Lehto.

Anticipated results of project: The project has focused on creating an open innovative space, the Business Kitchen, which offers working and co-location space for students and entrepreneurs in the heart of Oulu. Several events, training sessions and collaborative networks serve to strengthen entrepreneurial orientation among students from all faculties and support entrepreneurs in business development.The overall aim of the project and Business Kitchen activities is to support the entry of more local companies into international markets and through this create employment in Finland.

Contact person: Senior Research Fellow/Development Manager Johanna Bluemink

PUULOG - Bio-energy supply management in Northern Finland

Duration: 01.11.2011 – 31.10.2013 Committed funding: EUR 250 000

OBS Team: Professor Jari Juga, Project Manager; Aaro Tiilikainen; Project Researcher Eero Klemetti.

Description of project: The main goal of this TEKES-funded project is to improve the supply logistics of bio-energy over long distances, as in Northern Finland. The project will evaluate and develop various business models concerning the transport of woodchip material from forest to terminal. That will inevitably involve a focus on the quality of the raw material, delivery reliability and costs.

Anticipated results of project: The project will arrange joint international seminars and benchmarking visits. A seminar, A Simulation Model of the Bioenergy Supply Chain has been devised. The first event, involving Swedish parties was held in June 2012 and the second one for Russian partners will be held in spring 2013.

Research consortium or cooperation partners: Kemi –Tornio, University of Applied Sciences; energy companies; some municipalities and SMEs;

Contact person: Project Manager Aaro Tiilikainen (aaro.tiilikainen@oulu.fi)

REPORT

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S C H O OL

ANNUAL

Writers: Managing Editor: Pasi Karjalainen | Editorial Assistant: Marja Sipola | Content Editing: Marja Aro | Texts: Petri Sahlström, Vesa Puhakka, Sauli Sohlo, Matti Marttila, Jonny Kaarlenkaski, Mikko Huotari, Lauri Tenhunen, Johanna Bluemink, Jaana Tähtinen, Janne Järvinen, Kim Väätäjä, Anna Elsilä, Rauli Svento, Mikko Puhakka, Andrew Conlin, Hannu Kahra, Pekka Tolonen, Petri Ahokangas, Pauliina Ulkuniemi, Saara Pekkarinen, Jari Juga, Veikko Seppänen | Interviews: Lauri Tervo, Tiina Koskela, Petri Ahokangas, Jenni Myllykoski, Evgenii Iakovlev, Longye Zhang, Steve Xu, Jari Pirinen, Juha Matilainen, Atte Keloneva | Language Revision: Andrew Mulley and Language Center of University of Oulu | Photographs: Juha Sarkkinen, Marko Oja, Oulu Business School and University of Oulu, Linnan Juhlakuva: Harri Rauhanummi.

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