Annual Report 2013

OULU

BUSINESS SCHOOL oulu.fi/oulubusinessschool

OULU

BUSINESS

SC HOOL ANNUAL REPORT 2013

MARTTI AHTISAARI INSTITUTE’S TOP FORUMS AND SEMINARS

Dr Wendelin Ettmayer and Tuija Talvitie: The European Union - Achievements and New Challenges, 22.4.2013 Professor Luis Araujo, Lancaster University Management School: Re-focusing Marketing: Market-Shaping, 24.4.2013 Senior Lecturer Gilad Livne, Sir John Cass Business School of City University in London: Earnings Quality in Foreign IPOs in the U.S.: The Role of Home Country Institutions, 1.10.2013

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CONTENTS

Oulu Business School..................................................................................5 Oulu Business School’s Important Milestones......................................6 A Message From the Dean........................................................................8 AACSB Accreditation............................................................................... 10 Oulu Business School Key Facts............................................................ 14 Education.................................................................................................... 17 Finanssi – The Association of Oulu Business School Students....... 35 Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics......... 36 Student Engagement with Business Life............................................... 42 Alumni......................................................................................................... 43 Research...................................................................................................... 46 Business Kitchen....................................................................................... 54 Martti Ahtisaari International Doctoral Scholarship Programme........................................................................... 56

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OULU

Business School

Oulu Business School has been chosen as act number 52 on the 100 Acts from Oulu list. As a result of accreditation by the international Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), Oulu Business School, which is a part of the University of Oulu, has become one of the most respected business colleges in the world.

OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL (OBS) at the University of Oulu is a truly international research and educational institute for business and economics. The high quality of our research and education has been acknowledged with the esteemed AACSB accreditation, earned by only 5 % of the world’s business schools.

We are based in Oulu, the lively capital of Northern Scandinavia and home to the multidisciplinary University of Oulu. Oulu Business School effectively collaborates with local businesses and the larger society.

Oulu Business School is a young and dynamic community, but our success is grounded in decades of experience: economic sciences have been taught at the University of Oulu since 1959. Full degrees in economics and business administration have been in the study portfolio since 1991, and in 2000 the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration was established as an independent unit. In 2010, we changed our name to Oulu Business School to better match our mission and focus on business studies.

Our students can choose from versatile study programme options. They can become top experts in business and economics by earning a bachelor’s,master’s, or doctoral degree, or strengthen their professional expertise gained in working life – in English or Finnish.

The international flavour of OBS is also evident in the Martti Ahtisaari Institute, with its focus on global business and economy as well as the challenges posed by advancing sustainable and responsible business.

For OBS, the first decade of the century was a time when we saw significant growth and met ever-higher quality criteria. It is with the same forward-looking pioneer spirit, and positive and active attitude, that we will grasp future challenges.

Oulu Business School’s Impor tant

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 in Economics.

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

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

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

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

2001 Degree programme in Logistics established.

2002 Degree programme in Management and Organization launched.

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

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

2008 MBA Programme launched.

2012 Management and International Business merge.

2013 Oulu Business School earns AACSB Accreditation.

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

DEAN

A Message from the

2013 WAS A GREAT YEAR for Oulu Business School.

We achieved our long-term goal of becoming an internationally accredited business school. The world’s leading business school accreditation body, AACSB (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), accepted Oulu Business School as an AACSB accredited business school.

AACSB Accreditation is one of the most significant achievements in the history of Oulu Business School. Only some 5 % of the world’s business schools have fulfilled the AACSB quality criteria and Oulu Business School at the University of Oulu is now one of only four AACSB accredited business schools in the Nordic countries.

AACSB Accreditation will multiply the opportunities available for Oulu Business School in international education markets and research.

Having an internationally accredited business school raises the profile of the whole University of Oulu and the Oulu region as an international centre of business expertise.

Petri Sahlström, Dean of Oulu Business School

The accreditation is the most significant hallmark of excellence in business education and research. In addition to Oulu Business School, in the Nordic countries only Aalto

University School of Business, Copenhagen Business School and Aarhus University School of Business and Social Sciences have achieved AACSB Accreditation.

AACSB Accreditation evaluates business schools according to 21 standards that focus on different aspects: strategic management, the quality of the school’s faculty, students, and processes, and the level of education programmes and student learning.

Achieving AACSB Accreditation has required years of work and considerable determination from our staff, faculty, and students.

Moreover, all our key stakeholders have been strongly involved in and supported our accreditation process, and now we can enjoy the fruits of that work. I wish to take this opportunity to express my warmest gratitude to all those involved.

Despite the great success, we will not halt our development. We move forward keeping our mission in mind.

Our mission 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 will continue to take important steps in further improving the quality of our education programmes,

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research, and faculty qualifications, as well as the services to our students and other stakeholders.

The review of our education portfolio has led us to revise the key goals of our programmes in order 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 in 2013. Our International Master’s Programmes continued to attract the highest number of applications of any programmes offered by 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 of faculty has increased and thereby the versatility of the expertise available at the business school.

Our research has been reported in several top quality publications in 2013. Moreover, our research groups were able to raise more competitive research funding than ever before. In particular, external TEKES funding increased markedly, indicating that our research is

rigorous and effective. To enhance our opportunities to take part in larger international research consortiums, we established a joint professorship with the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.

We have increased our connections to the business community and alumni by strengthening our annual mentoring programme and by arranging a series of seminars and other events on current topics.

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 reinforce external fundraising, the government as a funding 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 welcomed the change.

In the future, budget funding will mainly be distributed based on hard numbers measuring the outcomes and quality of education and research activities. Moreover, internationalization will have a great 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 hard-working 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 the Oulu Region, and also numerous individuals, companies and other organizations.

Petri Sahlström, Dean of Oulu Business School

The Final Dash IN OUR AACSB Accreditation Process

THIS YEAR PROVED to be the ultimate 100m Olympic Final for Oulu Business School, in the 2013 AACSB Olympic Games. Although the whole Initial Accreditation Process perhaps equates better to a marathon, it appeared to us that the final stage more closely resembled a 100-metre sprint, not least when it came to the preparation for the visit of the Peer Review Team.

Our brilliant Olympic core team was all set and ready. Petri Sahlström (Dean’s duties), Pauliina Ulkuniemi and Satu Nätti (organizing AoL), Kerttu Kettunen (managing Accreditation), Jaakko Simonen and Pasi Karjalainen (managing Faculty IC’s and Qualifications), Marja Aro (coordinating Accreditation) Veikko Seppänen (in charge of research and publication records and systems), Vuokko Iinatti and Merja Inget SPRING 2010

SUMMER 2 011

FALL 2011

Full member of AACSB

Eligibility

Mentor appointed

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(handling student records and the curriculum process), Antti Kauppila and Pia Heikkinen (organizing MBA programmes) and Sauli Sohlo (Head of Accreditation within OBS) were fired up for the challenge, together with faculty, staff and students, business partners as well as our most important stakeholders such as the City of Oulu, the Council of Oulu Region and the Oulu Chamber of Commerce.

Oulu Business School joins the ranks of the highestregarded business schools of the world as one of the first Nordic business schools to earn AACSB International business accreditation.

In the spring term 2013, it was with great enthusiasm that we prepared to submit our Self Evaluation Report or SER. The deadline was in mid May. We decided to send nine people from our core team to the business accreditation seminar and two assessment seminars in Vienna, Austria at the beginning of the same month.

This proved to be a good decision, as it reminded us once again how multifaceted the overall set of standards is required to encompass all the operations of a high-level business school. In addition, we took home some food for thought from Vienna, allowing us to re-check our SER within a week, before submitting it, and consequently we got a positive response from AACSB International.

As the autumn leaves in Oulu were at their most radiant in mid September, we were all ready and set to receive the PRT.We really had done our best to try to make sure that all our efforts over the past couple of years would be productive.We counted 150 people getting involved in the discussions during three days. As you can guess, our Management Team and also the Rector of the University of Oulu were happy and not a little relieved to receive positive feedback from our PRT Chair!

Now, as we work towards our continuous improvement objectives, we are well aware that the deadline to submit our Continuous Improvement Review Application is not more than two years away, and that will be followed by a further review in the fifth year on from our initial accomplishment. So, after the 100m dash, it is again time to get in shape for the upcoming marathon!

During May, all the faculty and staff of OBS and the student representatives of our student guild met to discuss the upcoming PRT visit. Everyone then had something nice to think about during the summer period.

In November,the time came when we received confirmation that the AACSB had decided to award the Accreditation Status to Oulu Business School. Time for a Party: Oulu Business School was now only the fourth institution in the Nordic Countries to be AACSB Accredited!

Sauli Sohlo, Deputy Director of Martti Ahtisaari Institute, Head of Accreditation, Oulu Business School

FALL 2012

FALL 2012

WINTER 2012

SPRING 2013

FALL 2013

NOVEMBER 2013

SAP (Standards Alignment Plan) submitted

SAP accepted

PRT Chair appointed

SER (Self Evaluation Repor t) submitted

PRT (Peer Review Team) visit

Oulu Business School granted AACSB International Accreditation

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

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O B S M a n ag e m e n t IN 2 013

OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL

Professor Petri Sahlström, Dean of Oulu Business School

DEAN Council

Professor Mikko Puhakka, Vice Dean for Research

SUPPORT Staff

Professor Vesa Puhakka, 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 Management and International Business Professor Jari Juga, Department of Marketing Professor, D.Tech Veikko Seppänen, Director of the Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics

Marketing

Management & International Business

Accounting

Finance

Economics

Mar tti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics Research Groups and Educational Programmes: FMA, MF, IBM, MBA, eMBA, OASIS, SHARP, SEED, Sustainable Corporate Governance

OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL KEY FACTS 2013 FINANCIAL DATA (in Euros) Budgetary state funding External funding Academy of Finland Tekes Other domestic Structural funds Business activities (MBA, eMBA) Other income Total funding Operating costs Staff expenses Other expenses Depreciation Internal items Total operating costs Surplus/(deficit) 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

2012 5 266 935

65%

2013 5 744 662

Distribution Funding 2012 Budgetary stateof funding 65%, 5 266 935

64%

Academy of Finland 3%, 277 816 Tekes 9%, 748 179 Other domestic 3%,funding 253 77865%, 5 266 935 Budgetary state Structural 10%, 809 449 Academyfunds of Finland 3%, 277 816 Business activities (MBA, eMBA) 9%, 730 173 Tekes 9%, 748 179 Other income 1%, 87 640 Other domestic 3%, 253 778

277 816 748 179 253 778 809 449 730 173 87 640 8 173 970

3% 9% 3% 10% 9% 1%

317 475 1 123 848 217 142 762 405 781 959 67 302 9 014 793

4% 12% 2% 8% 9% 1%

6 160 480 1 589 299 5 865 677 685 8 433 329 (259 359)

73% 19% 0% 8%

6 657 490 1 684 508 1 052 840 919 9 183 969 (169 176)

72% 18% 0% 9%

2009 17 58 20 95

2010 16 56 18 90

2011 16 58 26 100

2012 16 70 28 114

2013 16 81 25 122

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

1298/205 321/72 736/31

1634/207 348/61 567/30

1856/216 290/56 515/36

2003/200 142/41 401/55

2049/190 171/30 392/53

129 138 4

137 161 9

122 170 4

159 238 4

127 175 4

Structural funds 10%, 809 449 Business activities (MBA, eMBA) 9%, 730 173 Other income 1%, 87 640

Distribution Funding 2013 Budgetary state of funding 64 %, 5 744 662

Academy of Finland 4%, 317 475 Tekes 12%, 1 123 848 Other domestic 2%,funding 217 14264 %, 5 744 662 Budgetary state Structural 8%, 762 405 Academyfunds of Finland 4%, 317 475 Business activities (MBA, eMBA) 9%, 781 959 Tekes 12%, 1 123 848 Other income 1%, 67 302

Other domestic 2%, 217 142 Structural funds 8%, 762 405 Business activities (MBA, eMBA) 9%, 781 959 Other income 1%, 67 302

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

2009 36 50 46 83 59 17 20 9 4 38

2010 2011 2012 27 33 46 38 48 48 Budget funding 64%, 55 51 5 266 935 50 Academy of Finland 277 816 38935 81 323%, Budget funding 64%, 5 266 Tekes 17954 of Finland 3%, 277 45 9%, 748 Academy 44 816 Graduate schools 0,1%, 10 179 802 Tekes 9%, 748 23 33 20

2013 50 48 73 28 80 20

Distribution of Master of Science Degrees at the University of Oulu, 2013

Faculty of Humanities 15,6 %, 207

Faculty of Humanities 15,6 %,16,5 207 %, 218 Faculty of Education Faculty of Business Education 16,5 %, 218 Oulu School 13,2 %, 175 Oulu Business School 13,2 %, 175 Faculty of Science 18,4 %, 243 Faculty of Science 18,4 %, 243 Faculty of Technology 19,6 %, 260 Faculty of Technology 19,6 %, 260 Faculty of Medicine Faculty of Medicine 16,7 %, 16,7 221 %, 221

Graduate schools Other domestic 3%, 242 976 0,1%, 10 802 Other 3%, 242 976 Structural funds 10%,domestic 809 449 Structural funds 10%, 80924 449 17 25 17 Business activities (MBA, eMBA) 9%,eMBA) 730 173 activities (MBA, 9%, 730 173 15 income Business 2 1 2 Other 1 %, 87 640 Other income 1 %, 87 640

12 51

8 81

*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

8 78

7 74

Staff Distribution 90 81

80 70

70 58

60

58

56

50 40 30

Faculty of Humanities 15,6 %, 207 Faculty of Education 16,5 %, 218 Oulu Business School 13,2 %, 175 Faculty of Science 18,4 %, 243 Faculty of Technology 19,6 %, 260 Faculty of Medicine 16,7 %, 221

20

28

26 17

20

16

18

16

25 16

16

10 0

2009

2010

Professors Teaching and research Other

2011

2012

2013

OUR MISSION . We generate business competencies in cooperation with the scientific community, business partners and the larger society. We strive to develop expertise, and foster the development of leadership qualities in our students. Through our actions and global mindset, we participate in the development of the economy, especially in Northern Finland.

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EDUC ATION

Applications to Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes 2500

STUDENTS IN 2013

250

2000

301 new students admitted: 220 Into Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programmes 53 International Master’s Degree Students 15 doctoral students 5 full-time MBA students 8 executive MBA students

1856

2003

238

2049 200

1634 1500

150

1298

1000

100

500

50

0

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

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 emphasized in the curriculum. OBS caters for the needs of its students by providing personal tutors to guide the preparation of personal study plans.

Oulu Business School consists of five departments and students are offered studies in six different majors; Accounting, Economics, Finance, International Business, Management and Marketing. Studies in Oulu Business School lead to following degrees:

0

127

122

9

4 2009

159

137

129 138

175

170

161

Applications

EDUCATION in Oulu Business School

Degree Distribution

2010

Bachelor of Science Doctor of Science

4 2011

4

4 2012

2013

Master of Science

Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Economics and Business Administration Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Economics and Business Administration Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) in Economics and Business Administration Along with the three international master´s degree programmes (Finance, Financial and Management Accounting and International Business Management) and a full-time MBA programme, OBS has strengthened its position as an international, university level business educator. It has become the most significant provider of courses and degree programmes taught in English in the University of Oulu.

A message from the Vice Dean for

EDUCATION

EDUC ATION

Our Business School’s greatest and most valuable resource is our culture – our way of working.

DEAR PARTNERS, STUDENTS AND COLLEAGUES, I am extremely proud to be part of our internationally accredited Business School. I strongly believe that Oulu Business School is a very exceptional organisation.

It is unusually well-equipped and willing to grab the opportunities offered by globalisation. I tip my hat to the organisation and each of its members, who together are capable of producing such changes as we have achieved within the past year. Our Business School is a rare community whose members – our partners, students and we, the employees – are involved in open dialogue and work together for common goals. This is the best thing about our school.

Last year was full of changes, hard work and achievements. I have often been asked how we have managed all this: things like the accreditation, the new degree programmes starting in 2014, personal teacher activities and student services that the students consider the best at the university. There was no particular recipe for this. Instead of recipes, this organisation has committed, passionate people who are ready to work hard and voluntarily – in other words, because they personally want to – make things happen.

This happens at all levels of the organisation and in various positions. Our Business School’s greatest and most valuable resource is our culture – our way of working. This was not created overnight. Our culture is firmly established in our everyday ways of working, discussing, making decisions and also handling difficult things. We are allowed to talk about things and do things – and that is what we do.

Finland is undergoing an enormous structural change.

Also in the midst of this change are business schools.We must rethink our way of creating value for society. Such change offers a great deal of opportunities to all of us. In the midst of this change, I would like to share with you a few words from a commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. … Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

As I am typing this – my last assignment as Dean of Education – a group of small children in day care are walking in the university courtyard. In a sense, they epitomise what we do: train future talent, people with a willingness and desire to create value for our society through economic activity.

I would like to thank everyone for the past year: our employees, partners and, in particular, our great students.

Vesa Puhakka Vice Dean for Education

EDUC ATION

BACHELOR of Science (BSc)

in Economics and Business Administration THE AACSB ACCREDITED Oulu Business School’s renewed programme portfolio comes into effect in the academic year 2014 - 2015. From that point on, there will be one general, interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree programme.The new BSc curriculum will consist of a balanced volume of business and economics studies (international business management, accounting, finance, marketing and economics). After graduating from the generalized BSc programme students are expected to continue on to the MSc programme and pursue a chosen specialization.

The renewed BSc programme structure enables a more generalist and interdisciplinary approach which we believe will improve our students learning and therefore also their employment prospects. Most of the study courses in our BSc programme are conducted in Finnish.

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EDUC ATION

MASTER of Science (MSc)

in Economics and Business Administration MSC (ECON. & BUS. ADM.) IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT International business management education focuses on managing and leading international high technology, high context, or high touch businesses. The ideas that are taught are combined from different fields of managing business, which make international business management a truly multidisciplinary field of studies and a close connection between theory and practice is maintained in all research, teaching, and company projects. The distinctive nature of the education is manifested in the combination of the problematics of management and international business, especially from the viewpoints of innovativeness and entrepreneurship.

MSC (ECON. & BUS. ADM.) IN ACCOUNTING The degree programme in Accounting offers two fields of specialization: financial accounting and management accounting. Financial accounting covers the information and reporting systems of the firm that are used by various interest groups outside the firm. Management accounting develops information and reporting systems needed in the decision making inside the firm. Students can choose either option.

EDUC ATION

The learning process in economics is based on a cumulative improvement in the understanding of economic processes.

MSC (ECON. & BUS. ADM.) IN MARKETING Marketing as research at Oulu Business School studies markets, including exchange of value, long-term customer and partner relationships and factors influencing the functioning of markets. Marketing education develops students’ expertise in the fundamentals of marketing, such as campaign design or branding. Moreover, students have the opportunity to explore organizational buying behaviour, logistics, and the digitization of business within changing global markets.

MSC (ECON. & BUS. ADM.) IN FINANCE A Master of Science (Econ. & Bus. Ad.) degree in finance provides students with a strong foundation in the theoretical and empirical tools of modern finance.

Topics covered include asset pricing, corporate finance, portfolio management and risk management. The

approach is analytical and methodologically oriented.

The programme provides students with the knowledge and skills required to work in demanding specialist and executive positions in the financial sector, and also provides a good basis for further academic studies at the postgraduate level.

MSC (ECON. & BUS. ADM.) IN ECONOMICS The Oulu Business School master’s degree in Economics offers students a strong theoretical and methodological knowledge of economics. The learning process in economics is based on a cumulative improvement in the understanding of economic processes. Exercises and the production of term papers are included alongside the lecture series, and reading international scientific journals is an essential part of the study process. Career opportunities for economists are typically broad, and include specialist and executive positions in both the private and public sectors.

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International Master’s

PROGRAMMES

EDUC ATION

The companies offer master’s thesis assignments and joint research and development projects for the IBM students.

OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL offers three international master’s programmes taught completely in English. All the international master’s degree studies at Oulu Business School operate under the aegis of the Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics.

financial reporting system and the growing need for management control and accounting in internationalized firms.

FINANCE

The IBM programme includes three core-learning themes: practices of international business, building up international businesses, and approaches to international business studies. During their studies, the students actively participate in assignments for both small and large companies. The companies offer master’s thesis assignments and joint research and development projects for the IBM students. The aim of this cooperation is to assist and accelerate companies’ internationalization and expand their existing international operations.

The MF programme focuses on understanding the financial markets and the actors in those markets.

Students will develop the skills necessary to analyse the interactions between those parties. The analytical and methodologically oriented programme provides a strong foundation in the theoretical and empirical tools of modern finance. Topics covered include asset pricing, corporate finance, portfolio management and risk management.

FINANCIAL AND MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING The master’s programme in Financial and Management Accounting (FMA) provides a master’s degree of a high international standard and is ideal for applicants with a background in business studies, social sciences, education, natural sciences, mathematics, or engineering.

During the programme, the students develop proficiency in the analysis of accounting information, to meet the needs of both a company’s internal decision making and of investors. Course modules reflect the recent trend in accounting towards the adoption of an international

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MBA & EMBA Education in Oulu Business School THE MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA) is the most versatile and sought-after business qualification worldwide. MBA education provides students with numerous career opportunities in various fields. It is generally seen as a passport to a successful career in management due to its global recognition.

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The Oulu Business School MBA is a master´s level study programme in business administration. The programme combines courses in international business, management of technology, business strategy, human resource management, law, accounting, economics, finance, management and organization, and marketing.

The programme is a one-year, full-time MBA programme that allows students to get in touch and share their experiences with other students from multiple disciplinary bases during the regular course of study.

The MBA Programme is taught completely in English.

education who already have practical work experience.

The programme strives to develop the managerial skills and abilities of managers and key personnel in small and medium-sized enterprises presently involved in internationalization, and of managers and key personnel in large enterprises competing in international markets.

It is suitable for all those who want to be able to meet the new challenges arising in an international context.

The modes of study are highly practice oriented and include, as a focal part of the training, a major assignment capable of application in the participant’s own working environment.

THE EXECUTIVE MBA (EMBA) programme is intended for those with an academic or college level

The programme is geared for people who wish to improve their ability to meet and master the new

managerial challenges brought about in an environment that is internationalizing at a rapid rate. The Executive MBA programme is intended to be studied while participants continue their regular work.

The Executive MBA programme is intended to be studied while participants continue their regular work.

EDUC ATION

1ST YEAR

2ND YEAR

3RD YEAR

Compulsory studies 15 ects: Orientation to studies, 3 ects Statistics and mathematics, 12 ects

BSc Curriculum Reform 2012 - 2014

Language and communication studies 20 ects: Finnish and Swedish, 9 ects Optional language studies, 11 ects

One minor subject, 25 ects: Chosen from corporate law, statistics and mathematics, language- and communication, technical sciences, sociology, education etc.

Bachelor’s Thesis,10 ects Introduction to business studies, 30 ects

Analytical skills, 25 ects Finnish Economy and Economic Policy Distribution and Retail Management Monetary Economics Financial Statement Analysis Portfolio Theory

Principles of Marketing Contract and Company Law Introductory Economics Organisations and Management Bookkeeping and Financial Reporting Financial markets

Business processes, 30 ects

Global perspectives, 25 ects

Strategic Management Practices in marketing Financial Decisions

International economics Internationalisation Management control

Management Accounting Investment Decisions Company Project OR Intership

Managing multinationals Strategic marketing management

THE MISSION REVISION PROCESS in 2011 - 2012 initiated the re-evaluation of OBS’s existing programme portfolio. Based on the revised mission, OBS decided to start planning a new programme portfolio including a more generalized BSc curriculum that would be accompanied by a specialized MSc programme. The new programme portfolio comes into effect in the academic year 2014 - 2015. From that point onward there will be one general, interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree programme. The new BSc curriculum will consist of a balanced volume of business and economics studies (management and international business, accounting, finance, marketing and economics). After graduating from the generalized BSc programme students are

25

The new BSc programme structure enables a more generalist and interdisciplinary approach.

expected to continue on to the MSc programme and pursue a chosen specialization.

Based on the regional and national stakeholder feedback and from the present work life viewpoint in general, a wide understanding of different aspects of business is needed as a basis for developing our students’ expertise.

The new BSc programme structure enables a more generalist and interdisciplinary approach which we believe will improve our students learning and therefore also their employment prospects.

Our mission emphasizes cooperation with the scientific community, business partners, and society. The new BSc programme fosters the constant interaction between

theory and practice that occurs in our teaching, for instance through professionally qualified faculty members, visiting teachers from other scientific communities, companies and organizations, constant feedback from our stakeholders and their participation in developing our curriculum, and alumni activities. In addition, our students participate actively in local business life by conducting projects and theses in cooperation with local companies, as a response to which their learning is also applied to real-life context to increase the practical relevance of our teaching and to contribute to the local business community.

Satu Nätti, Head of BSc Curriculum Reform

EDUC ATION

DEVELOPING the Quality of Teaching

IN TERMS OF TEACHING development during 2013, one of the main issues that we worked on was the Assurance of Learning, or AoL as we learned to call it. This term, brought to us by the AACSB accreditation, directs our attention to two important points. First, to evaluate the quality of our programmes, we need to focus on learning, not only teaching. Teaching can result in learning, or learning can take place in spite of our teaching efforts. Secondly, in terms of our quality assurance processes, the crucial question we need to answer is, “how do we know that our students have learned what we wanted them to learn?� This means that we need to carefully determine what we actually want our students to learn and the processes that will enable us to be sure that such learning has occurred by the time they graduate. As a result of focusing on the AoL, we have developed generic learning goals for our programmes and

measures to ensure that our students really achieve these goals. This process enables us to continuously improve our programmes and teaching. Moreover, our teaching development activities have been intensified to cover the programme level more clearly, in addition to all the development that takes place at the course level. We strive to educate people to become experts in their field and expert learning is a curriculum function, meaning that expertise is not created through single courses, but throughout the whole programme as students integrate their learning from different courses.

Owing to our efforts to build up AoL processes, we can be sure that our graduates possess the skills and knowledge they need as they embark upon their careers.

Professor Pauliina Ulkuniemi, Head of AoL Design Team

AAC SB

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International Assessment Seminar in Vienna 6. - 11.5.2013

THE AACSB INTERNATIONAL ASSESSMENT Seminar was held in Vienna on May 2013. Participants from Oulu Business School shared their thoughts on the seminar, and on what our business school could learn from others.

As one of the senior faculty members, Director of the Martti Ahtisaari Institute Veikko Seppänen’s experiences were very positive. “I was especially delighted to see how much emphasis is put on helping the students to learn”, he explains.“Overall, accreditation makes sense,and the emphasis placed by the AACSB on innovation, impact and engagement is a good foundation for sustainable improvement”.

“The conference increased my knowledge of the Assurance of Learning processes and provided information on the kind of systems we have to develop to follow and ensure the learning of our students. One of the improvement to which we aspire in this accreditation process is to develop our data collection and documentation. This

will keep us on the road of the continuous improvement”, says controller Pasi Karjalainen.

“One of the key messages of the AACSB Vienna seminar was that the Assurance of Learning system should build on the business school’s existing processes of assuring the quality of educational processes. Many Assurance of Learning activities that are now being discussed at OBS as a part of the AACSB processes are not, in fact, completely new to us. We have developed our courses and curricula systematically for years, thought about learning objectives and re-written course descriptions with a mindset focused on student learning. In addition, we have launched international MSc programs, improved our MBA programme activities, and are now in a process of re-structuring our BSc curriculum. The AACSB process is essentially about continuous improvement.

In order to maintain the virtuous circle of student learning, we just need to know how we are doing and where we are going;

and for that we need to establish some proper measures, and be somewhat more systematic in evaluating our performance”, says doctoral candidate Kerttu Kettunen.

“Seeing so many business schools striving for accreditation and seeing our position among all of them was truly enlightening; we are engaged in an excellent development process that is constantly tested and improved globally. The benefits of taking part in the process are already evident. In AACSB, the focus is on students and their learning, which has to be one of the most, important tasks, if not the single most important, in business schools, and here in Oulu it is evident that we really take it seriously. It has been and will continue to

be the key to our region’s competitiveness in the future”, Oulu Business School’s MBA coordinator Antti Kauppila explains.

“Oulu Business School’s strategy to involve many faculty and staff members in the AACSB seminars has truly proved its worth during the accreditation process.The depth of discussions after the seminar days and the immediate implementation of improved ways of conducting everyday work towards AACSB standards is something that cannot be attained by having only one person committed to the process. Sharing the knowledge from the seminars with the faculty is also a group effort and the benefits are substantial”, states Vuokko Iinatti, OBS’s Director of studies.

EDU C ATION

INTERNATIONAL training oppor tunities The grants are drawn from the training budget of the University of Oulu and allocated by Oulu Business School.

OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL OFFERS grants for its degree students to finance their training in different organizations every year. The grants are intended for students who have completed around half of their degree course. Grants are mainly offered to support organizations that would not hire interns without such a financial contribution. However, it is more important that the training supports the student’s study goals and future employment. The grants are drawn from the training budget of the University of Oulu and allocated

by Oulu Business School.

Third year management student Niklas Harki from Oulu Business School spent summer 2013 as an intern

in Hong Kong after his exchange period at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Niklas’ employer was multinational Scandinavian media corporation Egmont’s subsidiary Egmont Sourcing, which represents global sourcing and quality control operations in the “cover mount” (products which are packed and sold with magazines) business.

Niklas ended up working in Egmont via a Finnish contact, and having composed a motivation letter and surviving multiple rounds of interviews, he worked in Hong Kong from June until August as a summer intern.

Egmont’s multinational and youthful 20-person office is located among skyscrapers in the heart of the city.

Niklas participated in the daily activities of the office as a member of both sales and quality teams and assisted the organization’s manager on strategic projects.

The majority of employees were local people. Niklas studied Mandarin Chinese during his student exchange and got to use his language skills on a trip to Beijing.

“The language used in the company’s communications was English, but day-to-day conversations in the office were usually in Cantonese”, he tells. Niklas was the youngest employee of the office. He was welcomed, and his co-workers were interested in Finnish culture.

In some cases, the summer intern had the autonomy to develop projects. Niklas had the opportunity to practice his creativity and visual skills in web page design and on other projects.

One does not get rich as an intern in Hong Kong.

Accommodation costs are quite high. Niklas got an

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international training grant from the University of Oulu to finance his training. “The main goal in international internship is to gain experience”, he says.

Niklas thinks that the best part of his training was learning what internationality means in a broad context. “I learned how a company has to manage the situation where its operations are located on several continents and to manage international business”. He warmly recommends an international internship for any student considering it. “Training gives you a lot of confidence. It is one of the best things a student

can do even if your primary aim isn’t to work in the international sector”, Niklas says.

Niklas says that there is a large demand for applicants with enthusiasm and an international attitude in the growing markets of China and Hong Kong.

“International training also gives you a whole different international network compared to that you acquire when studying abroad”.

EDU C ATION

Oulu Business School degree students are offered many options for study exchanges all over the world.

EXCHANGE Studies Oulu Business School’s Student Exchanges in 2013 Outgoing students Incoming students Outgoing and incoming students

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Tekes 12%, 1 123 848 Foundation 1%, 76 699 Municipality 1%, 68 039 Other public 1%, 46 090 Structural funds 8%, 762 405 Private companies 1%, 72 404 Business activities (MBA, eMBA) 9%, 781 959 Other income 0,2 %, 21 212

EDU C ATION

Number of Exchanges from OBS, 2013 (Own Students)

Number of Exchanges to OBS, 2013 (Foreign Students)

20

25 87

10

6

6 4

4

4

10

2

2 United States

5 4

4

4

3

3

3

2 Other countries

Italy

Spain

China

Belgium

Japan

Exchanges (foreign students)

Czech Republic

2013

Germany

Exchanges (own students)

2012

Russian Federation

2011

France

2010

3

6

4 0

0 2009 2007

3

4

United States

5

20

France

5

Germany

30

0

8

8

8

11

Other countries

10

10

12

Russian Federation

40

12

Italy

50

12

Czech Republic

52

14

15

15

Spain

61

16

Thailand

61

18

China

63

20

Hungary

60

65

68

Hong Kong

70

72

Hong Kong

81 82

80

18

Austria

90

Australia

Student Exchanges at OBS

Gaining International Experience as a Visiting

LEC TURER

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ANITA JUHO, postdoctoral researcher from Oulu Business School’s department of Management and International Business, gained some valuable international experience from her visits to IPMI International Business School located in Jakarta, Indonesia. Anita visited IPMI twice last year and worked as a visiting lecturer.

IPMI International Business School is relatively small business school, but this is about to change. “IPMI is growing very rapidly and it is really exiting to observe the development”, Anita says. As the name implies, IPMI International Business School has recently started to emphasize internationality, as evidenced by the growing number of visiting lecturers.

Anita ended up teaching in IPMI via her colleague John Meewella, who works in Indonesia for part of the year.

Anita taught on BBA, MBA, and eMBA levels. She taught on topics that were closely connected to internationalization. “One interesting subject I got to teach was Thought

Leadership, an issue which is not taught in our business school. Actually, all subjects I taught addressed a global way of thinking linked to management, marketing and international business”.

Her visits to the IPMI International Business School were Anita’s first experience of being a visiting lecturer, although she had made a few research visits before. “Even though my primary task was teaching, I learned a great deal about the local economy, industries and leadership culture”,Anita says.

The cultural context has to be taken into account when teaching abroad.“Indonesia has been quite a closed economy, and internationalization is a relatively new issue to Indonesians. From their point of view, Finland is an extremely internationalized country. When Indonesia joins the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015, their markets will open significantly. And after discussing the issue with local business people, I can see a huge potential in Indonesia”, Anita says.

Cultural differences can also be seen when comparing Finnish and Indonesian students. “Finnish students have strong analytical skills and they are familiar with working and thinking very independently. Then again, Indonesian students are really good at group assignments and visual presentations.”

Anita’s overall experiences of her visits to Indonesia were very positive. “I can highly recommend working as a visiting lecturer to anyone who is interested. As a visiting lecturer, one can learn very much from the country and the culture and have some rich conversations. I also feel that the visits have developed me as a teacher.”

EDU C ATION

COLLABORATION Between University of Oulu and Local Business Life IN 2013, a project was initiated to promote cooperation between local businesses in Oulu and university students in their final year looking for thesis research projects for their master’s degrees. For the first round, eight research topics were co-created by the university and local companies. I applied for a topic assigned for a management student, which was about developing the role and functioning of the boards of directors in SMEs. In my study, I focused on the role of nonexecutive directors. It was quite a natural area for the research since the business partners supporting my topic represented both local firms and professional board members.

Burning topic The strength of Oulu lies in the strong collaboration relationships between the universities, local businesses and the city of Oulu.The city used to be a centre for ICT activities, but now there is a growing entrepreneurial spirit and a booming interest in starting a business among both students and those already employed and looking for new opportunities. I feel my topic of utilizing external resources is relevant to the current situation, since small firms often face challenges as they grow, especially if they lack good networks, leadership skills, and business experience. I wanted to find patterns revealing how successful firms utilize external resources and networks to continuously develop a winning strategy, find

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new opportunities, and make the organization more effective. I am particularly interested in understanding how firms find those crucial resources.

For a student, it is a great opportunity to meet some smart and creative people in your field, and develop one’s skills and professional networks.

Personal interest In the research, I combined the given topic of developing firms through enhancing the working methods of the executive boards with my interest in developing teamwork and social networks in knowledge work. I would recommend similar projects that combine the interests of students and businesses, for the benefit of both parties. For a student, it is a great opportunity to meet some smart and creative people in your field, and develop one’s skills and professional networks. For a company, a research project is a relatively inexpensive way of getting a personal link to fresh knowledge and ideas, and the international and interactive working culture of today’s youth.

Sini Valmari Student in Oulu Business School

FINANSSI – The Association of Oulu Business School Students FINANSSI is the association of economics and business students at Oulu Business School.

The association was founded in 1991 upon the commencement of business degree education at the University of Oulu, and currently has over 1500 members. The association, also referred to as a guild, uses purple as its identifying colour, which can be seen adorning the guild ribbon, for example. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the banknote with the highest face value in the history of the Finnish mark was purple.

The guild’s crest is based on the emblem of the University of Oulu, which is intertwined with two snakes to symbolize wisdom and proactivity.

Finanssi influences academic affairs proactively with the faculty in order to ensure the high quality of studies.

Finanssi plays two significant roles in the daily life of its members. First, Finanssi influences academic affairs

proactively with the faculty in order to ensure the high quality of studies. Secondly, the association arranges all kinds of activities from soirées to excursions to local firms.

The most notable event is the grand annual ball in which the faculty and students gather together to honour Finnish academic traditions. Finanssi also arranges an annual excursion to Helsinki where students meet with firms and explore career opportunities.

Overall, the association’s goal is to enrich the university life of the business students at Oulu. For freshmen, exchange students, and graduates, purple is the colour that binds the guild members together, year after year.

Vili Koistinen, Chairman of the Board in 2013

FINANSSI KEY FACTS

FINANSSI – THE ASSOCIATION OF OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDENTS

FOUNDED 1991 (Celebrated 22nd anniversary in 2013) OVER 1500 members currently ALMOST 200 new members every year 10 people in the board 7 committees DELIVERS 4 issues and hundreds of copies of Egonomi (Finanssi’s own guild magazine) ORGANIZES the Oulu Pool Party in Eden Spa in March together with engineering students INTERDISCIPLINARY party: 6 times a year and involving thousands of students from Oulu ORGANIZES one of the biggest business school student events in Finland (VVV-cruise with over 700 students from all around Finland) ORGANIZES one big excursion per year incorporating visits to some of the nation’s top companies such as TENS of board Rovio, Kone, and Accenture meetings and tens of committee meetings per year PRODUCES two large questionnaires that focus on the development of education in OBS and the services Finanssi provides for its members PUBLISHES a weekly newsletter ACTIVE in Facebook, LinkedIn, Issuu, Twitter, Instagram and has its own picture gallery and exam archive.

MARTTI AHTISAARI Institute of Global Business and Economics 2013 MARKED the fifth year of operation of the Martti Ahtisaari Institute since its founding in 2008.

The institute has demonstrated its capacity to add value not only to the business school, which was President Ahtisaari’s special wish, but also to the university and its stakeholders in more general terms.

The institute can be seen as fulfilling a dual role, in that on one level it is rooted in the local community and its collaboration in business research and education, following the mission of its mother organization. On another level, it has made both rigorous and relevant global expertise and networks locally available.

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2013 can be seen as a year of consolidation and renewal for the future.

A third, and obviously increasingly important, matter is initiating new areas of interest and activities. Responsible business is a very good example of this, stemming from cooperation with the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI), but also including some specific research and educational actions. In a similar manner, the institute has played an important role in initiating multidisciplinary research agendas and projects, both because of belonging to the Oulu Innovation Alliance and by addressing open collaboration arenas in a very practical manner. Business Kitchen illustrates this kind of achievement very well.

Operationally, 2013 was a busy year at the institute on many fronts. The institute’s first three research groups completed their work and four new groups were selected based on external scientific evaluation.

They clearly represent the pinnacle of research and have considerable domestic and international networks available to deploy. Expectations of the results to be produced by the groups and for the impact they will have are very high.

One of the groups integrates information systems science

MARTTI AHTISAARI INSTITUTE

and business administration topics in a novel way, but also other groups are involved in cross-disciplinary activities too.

As an example, the head of the SEED group and a professor of economics, Rauli Svento, co-authored a paper in one of the best scientific journals in the world, Science, on identifying individual genetic variants associated with educational attainment (volume 340, number 6139, pages 1467 - 1471).

The institute provided several new scholarships for selected doctoral students. In 2013, nine young researchers were working towards their dissertations and Kerttu Kettunen already successfully defended her thesis. The scholarships provided by the institute were used, in particular, for research visits abroad ranging from Sweden to the USA, Canada and the United Arab Emirates, among others.

2013 was the first year of work at the institute for the professor of digital service business, Dr Timo Koivumäki.

The professorship is jointly funded by the university and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The main focus of activity was on R&D project preparation and launching, including the so-called strategic research openings, SHOK programmes, and EU projects. In terms of content, digital services for health and wellbeing emerged as an important target of activity, in close collaboration with the Centre for Health and Technology (CHT) of the Oulu Innovation Alliance.

In terms of educational activity, 2013 can be seen as a year of consolidation and renewal for the future.

From the viewpoint of the institute, this is especially the case for executive education, but in more general

terms applies to the business school as a whole.

Assurance of Learning is one of the cornerstones of the AACSB accreditation gained by the business school, and the institute was responsible for managing and implementing the accreditation project. In fact, the entire schema of degree programmes was renewed as part of or in connection with the accreditation process.

Overall, the project was among the all-time greatest achievements of the business school.

The institute organized and contributed to organizing several events in 2013, that facilitated interaction and discussion among various parties interested in global economics and business. The Word Affairs Forum, a new event launched to pull together international and domestic experts, as well as researchers and students, was a success. It addressed the achievements and challenges of the European Union, with Dr Wendelin Ettmayer and Ms. Tuija Talvitie as the main invited speakers.

The institute’s research seminars were enlivened by Professor Luis Araujo from the University of Lancaster, and Dr Gilad Livne from the City University London, among others, presenting and leading discussions on their recent scientific work.

Professor, D.Tech Veikko Seppänen, Director of Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics

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Mar tti Ahtisaari Institute Research SEMINAR SERIES

TWO SEMINARS were arranged in the Martti Ahtisaari Institute Research Seminar Series in 2013. Both were attended by external stakeholders in companies and public organizations, faculty, and students.

Re-focusing Marketing: Market-Shaping Wednesday 24.4.2013 The research seminar Re-focusing Marketing: MarketShaping discussed market-shaping from a variety of angles.

Gilad’s research focuses on understanding how capital markets react to accounting information.

The first keynote address was presented by Professor Luis Araujo, Department of Marketing, Lancaster University Management School and was entitled Formatting Exchanges, Shaping Markets: The US Airline Industry 1981 - 1991 and the Birth Of Frequent Flyer Programmes.

Teea Palo, a Doctoral Candidate from Oulu Business School, presented the second keynote speech on the Networked business model in emerging technology-based service market.

Earnings Quality in Foreign IPOs in the U.S.: The Role of Home Country Institutions Tuesday 1.10.2013 The Martti Ahtisaari Institute invited Gilad Livne, Senior Lecturer in Accounting & Finance at the Sir John Cass Business School of City University in Lon-

don, to present his research findings in the second Martti Ahtisaari Institute Research Seminar of 2013.

Gilad’s research focuses on understanding how capital markets react to accounting information. In the seminar, he compared measures of earnings management in foreign IPOs listed in the USA to US domestic IPOs. World Affairs Forum:The European Union Achievements and New Challenges, Monday 22.4.2013 The World Affairs Forums hosted by the Martti Ahtisaari Institute deal with current issues in the society.

The forum European Union - Achievements and New Challenges featured keynote speeches by: Dr Wendelin Ettmayer, Ambassador, Author on International Affairs: European Union – Achievements and New Challenges Tuija Talvitie, Executive Director, Crisis Management Initiative: Current Global Conflicts – What Do They Have to Do with Us? In his keynote address, Dr Wendelin Ettmayer, former Austrian ambassador to Finland, Canada and the Council of Europe, and author on international affairs, discussed the most important achievements of the European

MARTTI AHTISAARI INSTITUTE

The second challenge is a democratic deficit characteristic of Europe.

Union, as well as its current challenges and some of the central issues that will affect its future.

Dr Ettmayer praised the EU for its success in establishing a community of values, peace, and prosperity.

However, Dr Ettmayer believes that the EU is facing four key new challenges, the first of which is the state of divided sovereignty. Member states have given up some of their national sovereignty, but have not yet seen a European sovereignty that can compensate.

The second challenge is a democratic deficit characteristic of Europe. Citizens do not currently have a direct democratic say in the composition of all the EU institutions, which is why Ettmayer considers it vital that the institutions are brought closer to the people.

Tuija Talvitie, Executive Director at Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), reminded the audience that global conflicts affect our lives in Europe.Talvitie’s presentation was commented on by Petteri Pietikäinen, Professor of History of Science and Ideas of the University of Oulu.

Thirdly, Dr Ettmayer discussed the methods of European integration and highlighted its success, at the same time asking whether common political institutions and economic integration would lead to structural integration.

41

The final key challenge facing the EU Dr Ettmayer cited concerns its basic legitimacy. In order to create a common Europe, institutions must possess a basic legitimacy in the eyes of the people.

What will be the future shape of the EU – confederation or federal state? Dr Ettmayer did not venture to guess the future shape of the EU, but he did suggest the federal model of the USA did not provide a unsuitable reference point, as it was borne out of a completely different historical setting. Instead, Dr Ettmayer encouraged the European Union to focus on the most important forms of cooperation.

Dr. Ettmayer’s keynote speech was complemented with a commentary by Markku Mantila, Editor-in-chief of the Kaleva newspaper.

Tuija Talvitie’s keynote address, titled Current Global Conflicts – What Do They Have to Do with Us? included an analysis of the most crucial conflicts around the world and their impact on our lives here in Europe.

People often perceive areas in conflict as somewhere very distant and therefore as having little impact on their everyday lives, while in reality there are numerous conflicts with far-reaching impacts, including on the EU and Finland. In addition to causing destruction of societal structures affecting the lives of millions of people, unresolved conflicts have dire consequences beyond country borders. They boost the trade in arms, drugs, and people, foster terrorism and the radicalization of segments of society, create economic problems and encourage corruption, and

Member states have given up some of their national sovereignty, but have not yet seen a European sovereignty that can compensate.

Dr Wendelin Ettmayer shared his insights on the achievements and challenges of the European Union in Martti Ahtisaari Institute’s World Affairs Forum. complicate relations between states and populations to name but a few.

Conflict resolution requires both skill and will, and Talvitie encouraged policy-makers, international and regional organisations and all of us living in peaceful areas to take action to contribute to the resolution of conflicts. However, she emphasized that sustainable peace cannot be achieved without the will to negotiate and the commitment to peace of all parties to the conflict.

Talvitie’s presentation was commented on by Petteri Pietikäinen, Professor of History of Science and Ideas of the University of Oulu.

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT WITH BUSINESS LIFE

WRAPPING UP the OBS Mentoring Programme

LOOKING BACK at the period 2012 - 2013, the OBS mentoring programme was the most extensive initiative taken to connect students with company representatives. Mentoring was also a refreshing change to their normal routines for the staff! In addition to the 27 mentors – some already familiar from previous years’ mentoring programmes – and 35 participating students, a wide range of staff and faculty from the Dean and Vice Dean to programme coordinators and various university services were involved.

Our students clearly saw huge benefits in having the chance to get to know alumni and other business professionals. They also valued the opportunity to discuss their career choices and the transition process from studying to working. As one student put it: “I am now able to understand the employer perspective better”.

Mentoring covered all our master’s programmes, including the full-time MBA, so the programme also offered a great opportunity for our students to get to know each other better.

Our students clearly saw huge benefits in having the chance to get to know alumni and other business professionals.

The whole group met over coffee three times during the programme for group discussions. The aim of the joint meetings was for participants to interact with each other, and also to offer them some food for thought, for example about the role of personality in finding employment. Several mentors thought that mentoring gave them fresh new outlooks, with one commenting, “It has been inspiring to meet young, smart students and discuss issues with them”.

The aim of the joint meetings was for participants to interact with each other, and also to offer them some food for thought, for example about the role of personality in finding employment.

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ALUMNI – Combining Business Professionals, Students and Faculty

OBS has produced almost 1500 graduates since its foundation.

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 master’s theses and improves the recruitment prospects of 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 whom about 490 are currently active members of the alumni network. Our aim is to further expand that alumni network.

ALUMNI

ALUMNI Career Paths, 2nd of December FOUR OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL alumni shared their thoughts and experiences about working life and studying on the 2 December 2013.A seminar entitled Alumni Career Paths was organized by Oulu Business School in cooperation with the student guild Finanssi ry.

This year’s cooperation with our business school has been very fruitful.

Marketing and Sales Manager Tiina Koskela from Kaleva, Business Director Pekka Huttunen from Koodiviidakko, Financial Director Veli-Pekka Paloranta from Elektrobit and HR professional and doctoral candidate, Anne Keränen from Oulu Business School, took part in an interesting panel discussion about the careers of Oulu Business School graduates. All four graduated OBS with an MSc degree.

The discussion was obseved by a full lecture hall of bachelor’s and master’s degree students, who had submitted questions to the alumni beforehand.

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We will put even more effort into alumni affairs in the future.

Speakers at the Alumni Career Paths Seminar from left to right: HR professional and doctoral candidate Anne Keränen from Oulu Business School, Business Director Pekka Huttunen from Koodiviidakko, Marketing and Sales Manager Tiina Koskela from Kaleva and Financial Director Veli-Pekka Paloranta from Elektrobit.

All four alumni had very different career paths, yet there were some similarities. For example, all four had taken at least some courses in accounting, and said that understanding accounting had been one of the most important things in their careers. Corporate law courses and networking during studies had also helped our alumni.

Our newly accredited Oulu Business School now looks very different from the one our alumni studied at. Anne Keränen, a doctoral candidate who had spent 15 years working after graduation, said, that the biggest change in our Business School was definitely the internationalization.

After they were introduced and their career paths summarized, the alumni were asked questions about studies, careers, and recruitment. The questions submitted by the students demonstrated their interest in subjects including how much of an effect previous work experience, school grades, and student exchange experience have when applying for a job. Students also got valuable tips for how to stand out in the recruitment process and how to enhance a curriculum vitae or resume.

The alumni event received very positive feedback from both students and alumni.

The panel discussion was moderated by Antti Korhonen, Finanssi ry’s officer responsible for alumni affairs.

“This year’s cooperation with our business school has been very fruitful. We are happy that the faculty has helped us with alumni issues. Hopefully this kind of activity will continue in the years to come”, Korhonen said.

“We will put even more effort into alumni affairs in the future”, said Dean Petri Sahlström, in his introductory speech for the event.

RESEARCH

RESEARCH

In 2013, members of the OBS faculty published in many scholarly journals including:

Benchmarking: An International Journal California Management Review Communications of cloud software Ecology and Society Educational Research eJournal Energy and Environment research Environmental and resource economics European Accounting Review IEEE Wireless Communications Magazine Industrial Marketing Management International Journal of Bank Marketing International Journal of Business Excellence International Journal of E-Business Research International Journal of Information Management International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management International Journal of Innovation Science International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing International Journal of Services and Operations Management!

International Journal of Technology Marketing JMM International Journal on Media Management Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing Journal of Business Market Management Journal of Business Research Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing Journal of Corporate Finance Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy

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

Journal of Forest Economics Journal of Global Business and Technology Journal of Information Technology Research Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics Journal of Management and Strategy Journal of Marketing Communications Journal of Organizational Change Management Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management Journal of Product Innovation Management Journal of Services Marketing Journal of Small Business Management Marketing Education Review Middle East Journal of Scientific Research Pacific Economic Review PLoS One Review of Accounting Studies Science World Review of Intermodal Transportation Research

RESEARCH in Oulu Business School

OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL produces high quality and topical research knowledge both for the needs of business life and society at large. Internationally recognized and esteemed research is considered a fundamental basis of the high-quality economics and business education offered by Oulu Business School. Research is conducted in the areas of Accounting, Economics, Finance, Logistics, International Business, Management and Marketing.

The main research focus areas of the school are: 1. “Sustainable Corporate Governance”, 2. “Sustainable and Efficient Economic Development”, and 3. “Complexities of Organizational Activities”.

These topics reflect the fields of expertise of our researchers as well as the themes of the Martti Ahtisaari Institute’s research projects.

RESEARCH

Management & International Business THE RESEARCH of the Department of Management and International Business is organized through the multidisciplinary research community (RC) of COMPANION, which includes researchers from international business, management and marketing. COMPANION aims to improve the understanding of complex and challenging organizational activities and processes by asking thought provoking questions and challenging current views. Explanation building will emphasize contextuality and temporality and result in revealing causal mechanisms that explain the dynamics of organizational phenomena. The current conceptual understanding will be refined with new frameworks. Ontologically, the research primarily applies critical realism or social constructivism and epistemologically abductive research designs and processual methodologies. The RC views dynamics as created in the interaction of structure and process, and the interplay of individual agency and social structure is an important element of developments over time. The research applies theoretical approaches from several disciplines to connect multiple partial explanations into a holistic view of the complexities of organizational activities.

Economics Recent research in the Department of Economics focuses on environmental and energy economics, regional economics, long-run macrodynamics and decision making under conditions of uncertainty. Heterogeneity is one current research topic very much on the agenda in all the research fields.This interest is based on theoretical breakthroughs, computational and methodological development and data availability. Methodological breakthroughs have made it possible to move from aggregate data to genuine individual and agent based models and calculations. At the same time, the availability of micro data has increased markedly. This development has opened new avenues to including heterogeneity in research.

In environmental economics, the main research themes of the department relate to attitudes towards environmental goods, and combining economic and biological factors in natural resource management. In our energy studies, we have shown how heterogeneity in utilities’ endowments makes it very possible the wrong policy choices will be made, if that fact is not properly taken into account. We also study the heterogeneity of the power system, especially as it relates to intermittent energy sources like wind and solar. In our regional economic development research, we focus on the role of innovations and diversity in regional economic growth.

In macrodynamics, the emphasis has been on overlapping generations models applied to the issues of social security and renewable natural resources. Our economic decision making research is based on a novel way to combine genuine economic risk taking data with medical and psychological data received from the North-Finland Birth Cohort research project.

Accounting Recent years have seen an increasing demand for highquality governance mechanisms in corporations covering financial reporting, management control, auditing, and executive compensation. Therefore, research activity at the Department of Accounting covers the design of these broadly defined governance mechanisms. Recent research explores how such governance mechanisms can be designed in a sustainable manner to meet the challenges of the current business environment. Moreover, this question is addressed in the context of public organizations. The exploration of governance mechanisms covers both financial and management accounting points of view, and so approaches the issue of how to develop effective corporate governance mechanisms in private and public organizations from different angles.

More specific research topics at the Department of Accounting include the effects of the personal attributes and traits of top executives, auditors and other corporate insiders on the accounting and financial decisions of the firms they are leading; the use of external environmental reporting information on corporate decision making; the impact of cost management techniques on public sector governance; the transfer of management accounting from the private sector to the public sector; and the relationship between steering systems/IT infrastructure and management accounting.

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Marketing Research in marketing at the Oulu Business School has three focal areas. The first area is industrial marketing, especially business-to-business relationships and valuecreating networks. The second area is electronic business, and has digital marketing, social media, and mobile commerce as its central research themes.The third area is logistics and supply chain management, specific areas of interest being logistics services and outsourcing. Services and service business management is a cross-cutting theme that is explored in a multidisciplinary group, SHARP (Sensing and Shaping Service Business Relationships), selected as one of the Martti Ahtisaari Institute’s Research Groups for 2013 - 2015.

The research is carried out in close cooperation with the business community and public organizations. Active collaboration with national and international academic partners is fostered in research projects, many of which are supported by external funding organizations such as the Academy of Finland and TEKES (the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation).The goal is to produce high-level academic research of international standard that is published in refereed international journals.

Finance The discipline of Finance at the Oulu Business School educates professionals to meet the growing needs of the

finance sector. The education is based on the latest research evidence covering all the most important financial branches with an emphasis on asset allocation, delegated portfolio management and behavioural finance.

All topics are covered from an international perspective without neglecting the special features of our domestic economy. The approach ensures the relevance of our education for the domestic labour market as well as equipping our graduates to operate in an international business environment.

The education is based on the latest research evidence covering all the most important financial branches with an emphasis on asset allocation, delegated portfolio management and behavioural finance.

RESEARCH

RESEARCH in Global Business and Economics FOUR NEW RESEARCH groups in global business and economics have been chosen in the Martti Ahtisaari Institute for the period 2013 - 2015.

The Management Board of the Martti Ahtisaari Institute discussed expert evaluations of applicants at its meeting on 21st March 2013 and the following research groups were nominated by the Martti Ahtisaari Institute for 1.4.2013 – 31.12.2015:

Oulu Advanced Research on Software and Information Systems (OASIS) The Oulu Advanced Research on Software and Information Systems research group studies how software and information systems, in particular webbased services, can best serve people and organizations performing knowledge work and other similar activities.

The research activities in the group will focus on four research areas: (1) service design, (2) customer engagement, (3) social web innovation, and (4) the next generation of the web. Thus, the research emphasizes

user behaviours, in particular consumer behaviour in modern business contexts; technologically, the group emphasizes the role of the social web. Professor Harri Oinas-Kukkonen acts as Project leader.

Sensing and Shaping Service Business Relationships (SHARP) The Sensing and Shaping Service Business Relationships research group investigates the understanding of value creation in the service business.

It studies the dynamics of the service business through sensing and shaping service business relationships from the perspectives of service modularity, service market creation, service network orchestration, and service branding.

The overall purpose of the SHARP group is to advance the theoretical understanding and managerial knowledge in the area of business services. The research group studies business services from the perspective of service networks and the variety of roles played by actors involved in value creation with the customer. Within the service business, we recognize two interrelated research aspects: service marketing and service management.Developing expertise in these areas enables the creation of service innovations and fosters the design of future service businesses. Theoretical discussions on services marketing, service management, the interaction and network approach, industrial purchasing and branding are used to discover the dynamics of service business relationships and value creation. Professor Pauliina Ulkuniemi acts as Project leader.

Sustainable and Efficient Economic Development (SEED) The project looks at the basic principles of and opportunities for sustainable and efficient economic development in three topics. These are energy markets, regional development, and sound economic pathways for developing countries.

Sustainability has many dimensions and definitions, but current economic development clearly emphasizes the role of economic dimensions in sustainable development. Unless economic processes are based on sound and cost-effective principles, sustainability is not viable in terms of the other dimensions. Professor Rauli Svento acts as Project leader.

Sustainable Corporate Governance Sustainable Corporate Governance investigates how the personal characteristics of board members, CEOs (Chief Executive Officers), CFOs (Chief Financial Officers) and other top corporate insiders affect the two key decisions on stock-based executive compensation, that is, the design of their stock-based compensation schemes, and the subsequent insider trading of those stocks.

In particular, sustainable corporate governance explores whether insiders with certain personal

Sustainability has many dimensions and definitions, but current economic development clearly emphasizes the role of economic dimensions in sustainable development.

characteristics opportunistically seek personal gain first by influencing the terms of their stock-based compensation systems, and then by timing their trading on the stocks they have received from those compensation systems.

Sustainable Corporate Governance contributes to the literature by conducting groundbreaking research on how corporate insiders´ personal traits measured using high-quality metrics explain insider trading behaviour and the design of stock-based executive compensation systems.

The results will moreover be useful for firms and regulatory bodies in developing corporate legislation and corporate governance codes. Professor Juha-Pekka Kallunki acts as Project leader.  

A Research Visit to the David Eccles School of Business, University

of Utah

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IN THE AREAS OF ECONOMICS and business, coming up with fresh new research ideas requires a great deal of creativity. For this reason, having the opportunity to exchange ideas with foreign colleagues and to gain international academic experience is of great importance in university life.

To obtain a broader perspective on accounting research, I took an opportunity to spend the fall term of 2013 as a visiting scholar at the David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah. The University of Utah is situated in Salt Lake City, USA and has an approximate enrolment of 30 000 students. I was hosted by the School of Accounting, which is renowned for the quality of its programmes and faculty. For example, according to the latest rankings released by the Public Accounting Report both the undergraduate and graduate programs of the School of Accounting were included in the Top 25 programmes throughout the Unites States.

During the visit, I both worked on my own doctoral thesis and actively participated in academic

Operating

RESEARCH

I also had a chance to present a project related to my dissertation to the Faculty and received valuable feedback.

activities, such as doctoral seminars and accounting workshops where scholars from other schools presented their research. Doctoral seminars of 5 - 7 people included various assignments and presentations and were very dynamic. I got to know several doctoral students there and was positively surprised at how enthusiastic they were. For example, it was the students’ own idea to gather before the workshops and discuss the forthcoming presentations. I also had a chance to present a project related to my dissertation to the Faculty and received valuable feedback.

There were two informal meetings for Faculty and doctoral students arranged by the Department Chair at her house. Time spent decorating Christmas cookies

From a Research Project to an BUSINESS

with others at the pre-Christmas get together made an unforgettable impression.

Overall, participating in American academic life equipped me with new ideas and I believe this experience will be helpful in future.

Anna Elsilä, Doctoral Candidate in Accounting, Martti Ahtisaari International Doctoral Scholarship Programme

TDABC SME is Oulu Business School’s research project launched in 2012 and funded by TEKES (Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation). The project ended in 2013 and as a result, a spin-off enterprise, weVision, was created.

TDABC stands for Time-Driven Activity Based Costing, and it is a method used for cost management and profit improvement in complex businesses. It is traditionally used by global corporations. The focus of OBS’s project was to implement the method in small and medium-sized enterprises.

The project involved approximately ten people. Some team members worked as fulltime employees for the project and some were business experts from the University of

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The solution offers clients a clear view of profitability in different sectors of the business.

Oulu and elsewhere.The project consortium included real companies in which the TDABC method was piloted.

“We wanted to see which factors make the use of TDABC possible in SMEs and if the method offers them the same benefits as it does large corporations”, says project manager Kim Väätäjä.

The method is best suited to businesses with multiple customers, products, and transactions. Industries which could benefit most from TDABC include distribution, manufacturing, healthcare, banking and insurance.

The purpose of the research in real companies was also to develop a new service model using TDABC. The service model is cloud-based, and so does not require the customer to integrate complex software, which also makes it ideal for SMEs.

“One of the main goals of the project was also to find out how we can make the solution available to SMEs, and the service model was developed for this purpose”, says project researcher Jukka Piiroinen.

The solution offers clients a clear view of profitability in different sectors of the business. “We help customers to see which products or customers are actually profitable and why”, explains Väätäjä.

One purpose of the project was to investigate the optimal commercialization path for the solution, and it became clear that a spin-off enterprise would be the best way. weVision was established at the beginning of the project, serving an administrative function, and it commenced actual commercial operations at the beginning of 2014.

Many of the project’s pilot enterprises are now customers.

“We have noticed that there is demand on the markets for this kind of service model”, says Väätäjä.

The cloud-based structure also makes internationalization easier. The new enterprise has already started doing business with international customers.

Now that weVision is fully operational and offering an affordable and high value profit management solution for the target segment, we want to express our gratitude to TEKES, Oulu Business School, the business advisors, and partners for their collaboration and support in accelerating the new business development.

BUSINESS KITCHEN

Business KITCHEN BUSINESS KITCHEN is an 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

The aim of Business Kitchen is to act as a hub between universities and companies in the Oulu region. for growth-oriented SMEs to prosper in a lively research and innovation community.

Veikko Seppänen, Director of Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics summarizes the activity in 2013 as follows: “Business Kitchen became widely known as the brand of open innovation. It is hard to find another collaboration arena with a level of activities and results that is even close. I am willing to assert that one of the very basic ideas behind the Oulu Innovation Alliance was realized through Business Kitchen. Overall, by the end of 2013 over a thousand study-credit points were earned at Business Kitchen, as well as 340 business development assignments carried out and 27 Demola new business demonstration projects completed. Moreover, 30 new companies were established, 25 business development projects conducted for existing companies, and about 250 start-up businesses evaluated, out of which 7 acquired venture funding and 12 went through the business accelerator process.â€?

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NOTABLE EVENTS and News from 2013 Midnight Pitch Fest

THE BIGGEST START-UP event ever organized in Oulu, the Midnight Pitch Fest was a true success with 1000 participants, 70 pitching companies, 50 investors and a large number of great speakers.

The Midnight Pitch Fest, was held from August 22 to 23, 2013 at Kuusisaari, Oulu, and was an event the like of which had never been seen anywhere in Northern Scandinavia. The event was organized by BusinessOulu, the universities’ entrepreneurship hub, Business Kitchen and their cooperation partners.

The Midnight Pitch Fest brought the rising start-up stars to the stage, and they competed in four streams: pre-seed, seed, start-up and growth.These start-ups represented a huge range of business fields and also involved several nationalities.

The event was unique because of its tremendous speakers.

They included, among others, Alf Rehn, professor of Åbo Akademi, who has twice been recognized as among the 50 best business thinkers in the world and Tero Ojanperä,

who is originally from Oulu and controls the Vision+ fund that has invested in several Oulu-based companies.

Uprise 2013 UPRISE WAS a one-day event focused on entrepreneurship and self-development, held on 19 April 2013. At the seminar held in Lasaretti, the keynote speech was given by brand and design specialist and entrepreneur, Lisa Sounio, author of the Finnish best seller “Brändikäs” – a book on branding, marketing and networking. Catchbox Oy told the fascinating story of the start-up company, which has succeeded in a way many companies can only dream of; their product, a throw-and-catch microphone has attracted worldwide interest in less than a year. Local colour for this topnotch event was brought by the founder of Valkee Oy, Juuso Nissilä, who related his experiences with Valkee, how Oulu has served entrepreneurs, and especially how it should do so in the future.

Local entrepreneurs received help from Chinese students OULU BUSINESS SCHOOL’S cooperation project with the Shanghai Publishing and Printing College brought to Business Kitchen a group of 16 young and innovative graphic design students in May 2013.

Business Kitchen held a matchmaking event offering some local small businesses the opportunity to meet

these students and connect with those able to help them with different graphic design related tasks. The companies benefiting included Liminganlahti Nature Center, Liilak Inc., Joyin, IT Konsoli Oy, No More Pie and others.

In timescales of as little as 10 days, students were able to deliver excellent work and the companies were very surprised by the students’ efficiency and astonishing performance. As a platform to connect competences, needs and resources, we are glad that the students got the international experience they hoped for and the companies got the work for free that they would otherwise have had to pay for.

In timescales of as little as 10 days, students were able to deliver excellent work and the companies were very surprised by the students’ efficiency and astonishing performance.

MARTTI AHTISAARI INTERNATIONAL DOCTORAL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME

STUDENTS ADMITTED IN 2012:

MARTTI AHTISAARI International Doctoral Scholar ship Progr amme

NEW DOCTORAL STUDENTS ADMITTED IN 2013: Kerttu Kettunen, Marketing Research topic: Development of business schools and management education in Finland Minna Mäläskä, Marketing Research topic: Building Corporate brands through stakeholder relationships in B2B SMEs Marika Tuomela-Pyykkönen, Marketing Research topic: Evolving procurement and procurement competencies in fast emerging mining companies.

Jan Hermes, International Business Anna Elsilä, Accounting Anne Keränen, Management Waqar Nadeem, Marketing Riikka Nuutilainen, Economics Fan Wang, International Business

IN 2012 THE PORTFOLIO of business education and research at the Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics was expanded with the launch of the Martti Ahtisaari International Doctoral Scholarship Programme. Three new candidates were accepted into the programme in 2013, increasing the total number of doctoral students to nine.

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 internationalization of the university. The programme also increases the portfolio of degree programmes available in English at the University of Oulu.

The programme involves doctoral studies on the challenges of sustainable and responsible business, as well as the functioning of global markets and the economy as a whole. Management, International Business, Marketing, Economics, Accounting, or Finance must be chosen as the main subject area of the studies.

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The programme increases the portfolio of degree programmes available in English at the University of Oulu.

International Research VISITS IN 2013

“I visited Auckland Business School, New Zealand in December 2013. During the research visit, I presented my research at the annual ANCMAZ marketing conference and worked on my doctoral research about SME B2B corporate branding. Auckland Business School offered me a pleasant and inspiring research environment and a chance to present and discuss my research with distinguished marketing scholars, such as professor Roderick Brodie.”

“I was honoured to be accepted as a Graduate Research Trainee for McGill University’s COSMO Stochastic Mine Planning laboratory for the fall term, 2013. McGill University is located in Montréal and it is ranked number one in Canada and 21st in the QS World University Ranking. With approximately 38 500 students, the university offers excellent opportunities for PhD research. COSMO is a collaborative laboratory funded by global mining companies and the Canadian government and devoted to developing new frameworks for orebody modelling and strategic mine planning based on stochastic models and optimization. During the exchange period, I created an excellent network within both the university and the Canadian mining industry and also gave a keynote speech at the COSMO Public talk-seminar covering procurement strategy implementation in a mining company. These were also the main objectives for the trip, along with presenting two conference papers and gathering more empirical data, and all were conducted successfully. “

Minna Mäläskä, Doctoral Candidate

Marika Tuomela-Pyykkönen, Doctoral Candidate

MARTTI AHTISAARI INSTITUTE’S Doctoral Candidates made several international visits in 2013. Here are a few examples of their experiences:

MARTTI AHTISAARI INTERNATIONAL DOCTORAL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME

The overall purpose of the SHARP research group is to advance the theoretical understanding and managerial knowledge in the area of business services.

THE SHARPEST research seminar of November 2013

The seminar was co-arranged by the ModuServ project (Oulu Business School, University of Oulu and VTT) and the SHARP research group, which is one of the three research groups operating under the aegis of the Martti Ahtisaari Institute. The overall purpose of the SHARP research group is to advance the theoretical understanding and managerial knowledge in the area of business services. SHARP studies business services with an understanding of service networks and the variety of roles played by different actors in the creation of value with the customer. The abbreviation SHARP aptly derives from sensing and shaping service business relationships.

A LECTURE HALL of Oulu University was full of anticipation and good cheer as the research seminar commenced on 19 November 2013 at 1.00 p.m. on the dot.The audience was a vibrant mix of company and city representatives, researchers from various institutions, and eager students, all awaiting to absorb the latest news and discoveries in the topic of the day: the co-creation of value in modular business processes.

The interaction with the audience made the seminar truly enjoyable.The presenters revealed their journey of researching, recharging, rebuilding, and recreating service businesses to the audience, and welcomed the insightful questions that arose contributing to the overall experience.

The lecturers, Pauliina Ulkuniemi, Saara Pekkarinen, Satu N채tti, and Teea Palo engaged the audience in a discussion ranging across scientific notions and real experience.

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OULU

BUSINESS

SC HOOL ANNUAL REPORT 2013

The Story of Oulu Business School is Going to Be Continued...

WRITERS: Managing Editor : Pasi Karjalainen | Editorial Assistant: Eemeli Väyrynen | Texts: Petri Sahlström, Vesa Puhakka, Sauli Sohlo, Kerttu Kettunen, Antti Kauppila, Vuokko Iinatti, Satu Nätti, Pauliina Ulkuniemi, Antti Korhonen,Vili Koistinen, Niklas Harki, Sini Valmari, Anna Elsilä, Johanna Bluemink,Tero Huhtala, Minna Mäläskä, Marika Tuomela-Pyykkönen,Veikko Seppänen | Interviews: Niklas Harki, Antti Korhonen, Kim Väätäjä, Jukka Piiroinen, Anita Juho | Language Revision: Andrew Mulley PHOTOGRAPHS: Niklas Harki, Timo Heikkala, Kati Leinonen, Teemu Mustonen, Juha Sarkkinen, Atte Sipola, Marja Sipola, Eemeli Väyrynen, Oulu Business School and University of Oulu, Shutterstock.com LAYOUT: Pakkahuone Oy.

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