Research News 2/2016

4 Energy is fundamental 12 Urban planning is a wicked game 16 International R&D units improve the performance of firms

2/2016

Contents:

Insight Researcher in the Spotlight Research Funding Well Done New Funding and Research Projects Recent Publications and Scientific Articles Dissertations Current issues

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Assistant professor Gianluca Trotta: We take energy for granted

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Associate professor Jennie Sumelisus: How does digitalization influence people management in Finnish companies?

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Researcher Liandong Zhu: Algae is a future source of energy,

Editor: Riikka Kalmi, Science Editor tel. +358 29 449 8231, email riikka.kalmi@uva.fi Layout: Nina Jokiaho Research News in the Internet: www.uva.fi/en/research/popularisation/news

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| Insight

High demand for multi-disciplinary

Energy Research Energy and sustainable development is one of the new focus areas of the University of Vaasa.

Renewable energy from technical innovations is in many ways a multi- and interdisciplinary interface that enables new solutions in energy production, economics and use as well as in regional and national decision-making, while challenging old solutions and procedures.

Digitalisation and new energy production and distribution methods, such as smart electricity and heating networks, open up a range of possibilities and also bring new IT challenges. How can we guarantee safety and enable different forms of production? How can new kinds of products and solutions be created, developed and marketed?

The field is open to versatile multidisciplinary research. It is a question of market changes as well as of a new way to apply and commercialise the possibilities opened up by technological development. Better general knowledge has also increased the interest of markets and consumers in energy efficiency and environmental friendliness.

This was evident at the researchers' meeting on energy and sustainable development organised by the University of Vaasa just before the summer. A total of 44 researchers interested in the area attended the meeting. They represented marketing, various branches of technology (from electricity and energy technology to IT), management, public and business law, regional development, informatics, production economics, regional sciences, communication sciences and languages.

The research ideas were quite diverse, ranging from renewable energy sources, flexible energy production and smart electrical

engineering solutions to decision-making and management in connection with regional energy production, as well as to ethicality, business profitability and various issues related to energy production. In addition to the acquisition of sustainable technology solutions, the discussion covered how to involve and commit consumers as well as how to manage change and unexpected situations. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that international and regional legislation is an important field in the energy sector.

In general, the energy sector is an important and interesting research area from a technical point of view. Through sustainable development, it is also strongly connected to future operations.

It is not just a question of continuity of life, it is also a question of how the economy and diversely structured communality are intertwined.

What kind of sustainability can be built through energy-related innovations and technological development? How can consumers and other end-users be more involved in this change process? Energy and sustainable development is a rather important research area. It is therefore desirable that the researchers of the University of Vaasa be able to build a diverse basis for research also in the future. A joint website will be built for the researchers of the focus area by Arto Rajala and Lauri Kumpulainen.

Text: SUVI RONKAINEN, Senior Advisor 2/2016

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Photo: RIIKKA KALMI

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RESEARCH NEWS

| Researcher in the Spotlight

Energy is fundamental – but we take it for granted Energy Economics is the field of assistant professor Gianluca Trotta, who started his work at the University of Vaasa few months ago.

Trotta, 32, comes from the University of Rome, where he did his PhD. His research interests are Energy Policy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Behavior and Energy Literature. A strong curiosity about the energy issues and also willingness to find solutions on how to conserve energy for the protection of the environment and for the future generations have driven him to do research on the Energy Economics.

“Energy is fundamental to the quality of our daily lives, but we don’t even notice and take it for granted. We are so used to push a button and see a washing machine, an elevator, or a motorcycle working, that we can hardly imagine what it would mean living without energy”, Trotta says.

He is currently working for a new research project about Energy Literacy in Finland. Energy Literacy means the ability of consumers to make good decisions regarding the use and savings of energy in their daily lives. An Energy-literate person is aware of the prices of energy, her energy consumption, about ways to save energy and is able to make long-term decisions about energy-related issues.

“To test the level of energy and financial literacy of the Finnish households, professor Panu Kalmi and I are currently designing the questionnaire of a survey. The hypotheses of our study are mainly based on the correlations between energy and financial literacy. We expect to find low level of energy awareness and energy literacy, while high level of financial literacy among Finnish households.”

Trotta also expects to find that many socio-

economic and demographics determinants, and also psychological characteristics affect the level of energy literacy, awareness and behavior. One of the aims of the study is in fact to understand the heterogeneity among consumers.

High level of energy knowledge does not mean that people will always to choose the best behaviors.

“Even with adequate knowledge of how to save energy and a professed desire to do so, many consumers still fail to take noticeable steps towards energy efficiency and conservation.”

Besides research, Trotta will also teach Energy Economics.

“I will hold the Energy Economics and Sustainable Growth course in September in collaboration with Andrius Kazukauskas from the University of Umea. The aim of this course is to give students an overview of the demand for and supply of energy, and the main economic, environmental and policy issues.“ Trotta says it was a big change to move from sunny Italy to Vaasa in the middle of the winter.

He might not like the freezing temperatures in Finland but he thinks very highly of the work environment at the University of Vaasa.

“It is very friendly and very different from the Italian universities in which the relationships between colleagues and professors are more formal. Here, you feel part of a little community in which everyone is willing to help the others. “ During his free time Gianluca Trotta says he likes to cook and drive motorbike. He does a lot of sports and is a Muay Thai instructor.

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Research Funding }

From researchers to EU funding experts The University of Vaasa aims to apply for more research funds from the European Union and to develop international networks for its research operations. To this avail, the university organised a EU funding training programme for researchers during the academic year 2015–2016.

The training programme, which was held for the first time, awoke interest also outside the University of Vaasa. The programme was open to all researchers of the university. Based on the applications, 15 researchers from different sectors were selected for the programme.

The EU training programme mainly consisted of lectures and workshops by top international

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trainers as well as in-house sparring sessions related to individual project ideas and applications. The programme also included a visit to Brussels to get a better understanding of the EU's research funding activities and policies. There were a total of 12 training days during the programme. Some training sessions were also open to other researchers from the

University of Vaasa and other local universities.

An important aspect of the training programme was that its participants had the opportunity to network, to get to know each other's skills, to learn from one another and to come up with new multidisciplinary project ideas.

– Participants have given very positive feedback about the training programme. The training programme was praised for its high-quality content and form, as well as for the fact that its lessons have proven extremely useful also when applying for funds from organisations other than the EU. Participants valued the opportunity to network within the university, says Marita Niemelä, Vice-Director, Research Services and Graduate School.

For example, Assistant Professor Karita Luokkanen-Rabetino from the University of Vaasa's Management Unit said that the training was "unbelievably good" after taking part in it.

– We learned what the main pitfalls are and what we should focus on. Our research group now has a clear idea of how to proceed.

At the end of the spring, those who had completed the EU training programme received a certificate attesting the new skills acquired during the training programme. The certificate was awarded to Jarmo Alander, Tommi Lehtonen, Ari Haapanen, Karita Luokkanen-Rabetino, Mona Enell-Nilsson, Petra Berg, Arto Rajala, Lauri Kumpulainen, Olli-Pekka Viinamäki, Jaakko Yli-Ojanperä, Petri Välisuo and Birgitta Martinkauppi.

They will put the lessons learned from the training programme to good use in the upcoming application rounds for the EU's Horizon 2020, which, with a total budget of nearly EUR 80

million, is the most significant EU research and innovation funding programme of all times.

The idea of the training programme is for each participant to prepare an EU application during or after the programme.

– The researchers who took part in the EU training programme are happy to talk about their experiences and to share the acquired knowhow for the benefit of the other researchers of the university. Therefore, feel free to pick their brains and discuss EU-related subjects with them, says Niemelä.

Substantial EU funds available – a strategic approach is required In the face of growing competition for national research funds, now is the perfect time to turn our interest to EU funding. Substantial EU funds are available, and there are a lot of opportunities especially for multidisciplinary research of social relevance. However, Niemelä reminds that a strategic approach, long-term planning, good ideas, readiness to network internationally and adequate project resourcing are required in order to succeed when applying for EU funds.

The University of Vaasa supports research groups in preparing EU applications by offering them ad-hoc grants typically amounting to EUR 15,000 per application. Experts from the Research Services and Graduate School Unit provide support during project preparation, and Bruno Woeran, the EU Affairs Manager for the Vaasa region, assists researchers especially in EU projects related to the energy sector. The university will continue to organise training in the acquisition of EU funds.

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Well done }

}} The University of Vaasa doctor honoris causa of Economic Sciences, professor Bengt Holmström from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and professor Oliver Hart from Harvard University were awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science for their contributions to the contract theory. }} D.Sc. (Econ. & Bus. Adm.) Hannu Makkonen has been appointed as professor of marketing at the University of Vaasa. D. Sc. (Econ. & Bus. Adm) Annukka Jokipii was appointed as professor of accounting and D.Sc. (Agriculture and Forestry) Katja Lähtinen as a professor of timber building. Professor Lähtinen will research the business development in timber building. }} The University of Vaasa has awarded the title of docent within the field of international business (especially in the area of qualitative methods in international business and international entrepreneurship ) to D. Sc. (Econ. & Bus. Adm.) Eriikka PaavilainenMäntymäki. }} Professor Harri Luomala’s article with other researchers Perceived health and taste ambivalence in food consumption published in Journal of Consumer Marketing vol 32 number 4 has been selected as Highly Commended Paper in the 2016 Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence. }} Professor Marko Kohtamäki has received the Outstanding Reviewer Award from the Strategizing Activities and Practices Interest Group of the Academy of Management. }} Professor Adam Smale’s and associate professor Jennie Sumelius’ article with other researchers Talent or Not? Employee Reactions to Talent Identification published in Human Resource Management 52 (2), 2013 has been selected as a winning paper in the Emerald Citations of Excellence for 2016. }} Research director Karita Mård-Miettinen was granted the Åbo Akademi prize for her popularized book “Suomeksi ja ruotsiksi. Kaksikielistä pedagogiikkaa päiväkodissa” and for her article “Two languages in the air: a cross-cultural comparison of preschool teachers’ reflections on their flexible bilingual practices” in International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. }} Associate professor Tiina Brandt’s and researcher Piia Uusi-Kakkuri’s article Transformational leadership in teams – the effects of a team leader’s sex and personality” published in Gender in Management: An International Journal 2015 Vol 30 1 E has been selected as a Highly Commended Paper in the 2016 Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence. }} ERSA Baltic Section nominated doctoral students Laura Perttola and Hanna-Kaisa Pernaa the best Young Researcher Award with paper Absent minority in welfare planning: entitling or overburdening citizens with responsibility in the 5th International Scientific-Practical Conference Good Governance at Local Self-Government: Opportunities and Challenges in Developing Collaborative Governance. }} The Doctoral Programme in Business Studies at the University of Vaasa has been accepted as a member of the European Doctoral Programmes Association in Management and Business Administration (EDAMBA).

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| New Funding and Research Projects

Is brave new HR just hype?

How does digitalization influence people management in Finnish companies? Is “the brave new HR” just hype, or will we see fundamental changes in people management practices?

These are the key questions in the new research project by Professor Adam Smale and Associate Professor Jennie Sumelius.

The four-year project will be a joint research project with Aalto University School of Business.

Academy of Finland has granted funding for the project. University of Vaasa’s part of the funding will be 280 000 euros.

Recent technological developments are reshaping the way in which firms conduct business, organize and structure activities, and manage their resources – including the most valuable one, people. This “digital disruption” and the new ways of working challenges managers and human resource (HR) professionals to rethink the way in which they manage people.

“While there has been much emphasis on the technological development itself, we do not know nearly enough about how digitalization will influence the way in which human resource management (HRM) is done in firms, and what are the facilitators of and barriers to this process”, says Jennie Sumelius who is the operative project leader.

In order to learn more about how managers’ and HR professionals’ mindsets about ‘what is important’ and ‘what facilitates performance’

change over time as a result of the increased digitalization of HR the researchers will conduct a longitudinal qualitative interview study with Finnish HR managers.

What are the outcomes of digitalization, and to what extent are the intended benefits of digital initiatives realized?

“We need to ensure that Finnish firms and academics lead rather than follow the digital disruption also in the realm of people management. This is urgently needed: According to Deloitte’s recent report, 81 percent of Finnish employers consider themselves not ready for digitalizing their operations, and the lack of technological and dataanalytical capabilities has become the most important concern of Finnish HR professionals going forward”, says Sumelius.

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New Funding and Research Projects }

Energy and wastewater treatment solutions from algae Algae are not just the unpleasant mush that people see at the beach. They are also a future source of energy.

Together with other Nordic partners, the University of Vaasa is participating in TransAlgae, a new algae research project that studies how to utilise waste flows to produce micro- and macroalgae in a profitable way and, at the same time, clean wastewater.

Algae cultivation generates a biomass that is suitable for energy production and as fertiliser or landscaping material. If clean source materials are used, algae can also be produced as nutrients or medicinal ingredients.

University of Vaasa participants are: Erkki Hiltunen, Director of Research at Vaasa Energy Institute; Liandong Zhu, researcher at the Energy Technology Department; and Petra Berg, PhD student at the Marketing Department.

“Algae have a wide range of applications, including various cultivation methods, algae

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collection methods and refining of the generated biomass into different forms of energy. In order for algae production to be profitable, the cost efficiency and earnings logic of different options must also be studied“, says Erkki Hiltunen.

“Here at the University of Vaasa, we study the profitability of algae cultivation, i.e. which species best produces biomass and then bioenergy (e.g., biogas, bioethanol and biodiesel) for large-scale use“, says Petra Berg.

Researcher Liangdong Zhu studied algae cultivation for his doctoral thesis. He utilised diluted wastewater from piggeries to grow the microalga Chlorella zofingiensis. Oil-containing microalgae can be used to produce biodiesel. At the same time, they also clean wastewater.

“My previous research in China, my home country, and my doctoral thesis in Finland

provide a sound basis for the project about to be launched. Sewage sludge mobility and methane production can be enhanced by adding algae. Algae cultivation costs can be reduced by utilising the nutrients contained in sewage water.

Growing algae can remove up to 84–92 per cent of nitrogen and 59–74 per cent of phosphorus“, says Liandong Zhu. The cultivation of algae in wastewater implements the principles of sustainable development, especially in terms of water use.

“Our stakeholder partners in the research are the Pått wastewater treatment plant in the Palosaari district in Vaasa and Stormossen, a waste management company“, says Berg.

The future vision is to use microalgae to treat sludge in the wastewater ponds of the Pått wastewater treatment plant. Oil-containing algae also increase waste mass mobility. This means that, in the future, it might be possible to transfer the waste mass from the wastewater treatment plant to Stormossen's waste centre through a new pipe more efficiently and at lower costs.

The TransAlgae project has received funding from the EU's Botnia-Atlantica programme.

Project funding totals EUR 2.2 million, with Vaasa Energy Institute's and the University of Vaasa's shares being slightly less than EUR 700.000 and over EUR 250,000, respectively.

| New Funding and Research Projects >10 000 e }} Academy of Finland has granted 300.000 euros for a two-year research and development project “Game-based Financial Education in Schools”. The funding was granted to the professor of economics Panu Kalmi, who is a specialist in financial literacy and education, and to the professor of communications Tanja Sihvonen, who is an expert in game research. }} The South Ostrobothnian regional fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation granted 226 000 euros for the University of Vaasa researchers. The fund awarded grants for post-doctoral research to following students: Johanna Aalto, Petra Berg, Anu Heino, Onerva Heino, Erwan Mouazan, Jutta Mäkipelkola, Harri Salovaara, Päivi Kujala, Carita Eklund and Siru Lönnblad. }} Evald and Hilda Nissi Foundation granted scholarships to Beatrice Obule-Abila, Timilsina Binod, Sthapit Erose, Jiang Junhua, Eija-Leena Kärkinen and Sniazhko Sniazhana.

Vaasa University Foundation donated scholarships to Susanna Rönn, Haq Hafiz Muhammad Kamran Ul and Waheed Akbar Bhatti. }} Graduate school granted doctoral student positions to Jari Autioniemi,Caner Cuhac, Nebojsa Dimic, Samuel Yaw Kusi, Laura Perttola, Camilla Roswall and Matti Vaattovaara. }} Vaasa Aktia foundation has granted research manager Karita Mård-Miettinen 15 000 euros for the project Språkmedveten helhetsskapande undervisning i dagens skola. The foundation also granted professor Merja Koskela 10 000 euros for project “Videolla vuorovaikutukseen – Webcastin tehtävät ja mahdollisuudet sijoittajaviestinnässä. Project manager Katri Hansell was granted 10 000 euros for organizing seminars for Vaasa Institute for Multilingualism.

Professor Nina Pilke received 10 000 euros for her research project on terms in Swedish.

Assistant professor Niina Nissilä was granted 10 000 euros for the research project “Opintohallintojärjestelmän mobiiliversion terminologinen käytettävyys”.

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Recent Publications and Scientific Articles } Several high-quality articles have been published by the researchers of the university.

Publications at level 2 and 3 in the Finnish Publication Forum classification (Jufo) are presented.

Level 3 journals

Urban planning is a wicked game – Public deliberation helps Lundström, Niklas, Raisio, Harri, Vartiainen, Pirkko & Lindell, Juha (2016). Wicked Landscape and Urban Planning.

games changing the storyline of urban

planning.

New research has found that urban planning and regional development in general are a wicked game. The normal storyline of urban planning involves a limited number of experts. A good way to get more views about the wicked issues is to involve citizens. The literature sees collaboration as a successful way to understand the wickedness. The research was done in collaboration with the departments of Regional studies and Social and health management in the University of Vaasa by Niklas Lundström, Harri Raisio, Pirkko Vartiainen and Juha Lindell. The results are published in an article in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning.

Wicked problems are problems with no definitive problem formulation or answers. The idea of a wicked game is new and brings the players into the core of the wickedness. In the wicked game, the players try to solve the problems but at the same time their subjective viewpoints create the wickedness.

"The idea of a wicked game was presented in my doctoral thesis" says Dr. Niklas Lundström.

"Usually wicked problems are seen as 'something out there'. According to the gaming perspective it is the players who also create the problems when trying to adapt to the surroundings. They also try to solve these issues in the game. Every player brings his own subjective views into the game."

"We saw a good link between urban planning and the Citizens' Juries carried out beforehand.

They were based on the idea of deliberative democracy. We analyzed how the Citizens' Juries can bring new players – citizens – to the wicked game of urban planning. Citizens' perspective is easy to forget as usually the experts play the game."

The four Citizens' Juries analyzed were carried out in different kinds of cities in Finland. They all touched upon the issue of urban planning. The analysis was built on the multidimensional evaluation model.

The results show that there are opportunities in participative methods. The Citizens' Jury is a good way to introduce new players to the wicked game and thus helps us to get better understanding about the wickedness through a collaborative playing field. The biggest obstacle is to change the normal storyline into a more deliberative one which also includes the citizens' perspectives. Participation itself is not a definitive answer to wicked problems but can help us to get better understanding about them.

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Photo: SAMI USKELA/Flickr

Book / Level 3 publishers

Rewriting Narratives in Egyptian Theatre Translation, Performance, Politics Book: Eds Sirkku Aaltonen and Areeg Ibrahim, published in 2016 by Routledge (in Routledge Advance in Theatre and Performance Studies). New York and London

The history of Egyptian theatre is very rich, and recently, there have even been indications that the roots of theatre actually stretch to ancient Egypt, and not Greece”, says Professor Sirkku Aaltonen.

“We decided to ask Egyptian experts in theatre to write on their own field of interest, critics, translators, film makers, scholars, theatre practitioners to write on the topic of rewriting. We had three keywords: rewriting, narrative and crossing. By ‘rewriting’ we wanted to emphasise the creative nature of the process, re-writing or writing again. The plays are transplanted to a new society, at a different point in time, for a new audience and a new theatrical tradition.”

“We understand the world around us in terms of stories; we have story of who we are, a public narrative exists about what Finland is like as country and the values it ascribes to, a conceptual narratives exists in science but can also shift into public narratives and, finally, there can be a master narrative that crosses borders, such as ‘the war on terror’, launched by George W. Bush.”

The writers wrote about the crossing of borders of all kinds. Plays crossed cultural borders when they moved from England to Egypt. They were rewritten, they were given an adjusted storyline. The other way round, when Egyptian plays travel to America, they are written again and their storylines are adjusted. Linguistic borders always require rewriting, on so does intermedial rewriting, a play crossing from one medium to another.

“My own article dealt with four historiographies written about Egyptian theatre at different points in time. The first one was written in the form of articles (1935 and 1937), the second was published in 1958, the third in 1996 and the last one in 1999 . Only one of them, the last one, was written by an Egyptian scholar”, says Aaltonen.

Aaltonen’s aim was to explore what ‘their story’ of the past events was, what master narratives could be inferred from them, how they had framed (tied to society) their narratives, and how they had used evaluation and labelling in their narrative.

“My findings showed that as they had been written in politically different worlds, the historiographers background had been different, and the availability of the source material had also varied the resulting historiographies had become somewhat different.”

According to Aaltonen, the earliest narrative saw the Egyptians as childlike who needed the Europeans to educate them and to develop their culture. Only the last historiography, considered the new way of doing theatre (based on written text) as a new channel to talk about domestic issues, which would help to build a new Egyptian identity.

Except for the last historiography, native theatre and audiences were regarded as underdeveloped, and especially the female actors got very little attention, while in the audiences, they were described as ignorant.

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Recent Publications and Scientific Articles } Articles / Level 3 journals }} Annika Tidström and Anni Rajala Coopetition strategy as interrelated praxis and practices on multiple levels in Industrial Marketing Management. }} Marko Kohtamäki and Seppo Luoto Critical meta-analysis of servitization research: Constructing a model-narrative to reveal paradigmatic assumptions in Industrial Marketing Management. }} Marko Kohtamäki Theory and practice of value co-creation in B2B systems in Industrial Marketing Management }} Peter Gabrielsson Realizing a hybrid competive strategy and achieving superior financial performance while internationalizing in the high-technology market in Industrial Market Management. }} Dmytro Baidiuk and Seppo Hassi Completion, extension, factorization, and lifting of operators in Matematische Annalen. }} Liandong Zhu The effects of various LED (light emitting diode) lighting strategies on simultaneous biogas upgrading and biogas slurry nutrient reduction by using of microalgae Chlorella sp. in Energy. }} Anna-Maria Holma Conceptualizing Inter-organizational Triads in Industrial Marketing Management.

Articles / Level 2 journals }} Liisa Laukkanen and Harry Lönnroth Kielen energiaa – Lauri Viidan Moreenin käännöksistä ja niiden vastaanotosta in Avain. }} Karita Mård-Miettinen Two languages in the air: a cross-cultural comparison of preschool teachers´ reflections on their flexible bilingual practices in International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. }} Katri Hansell Tandempar skriver tillsammans - Interaktionsmönster i gemensamma skrivprocesser in Nordland – Nordisk tidskrift för andrespråksforskning. }} Liandong Zhu Photosynthetic CO2 uptake by microalgae for biogas upgrading and simultaneously biogas slurry decontamination by using of microalgae photobioreactor under various light wavelengths, light intensities, and photoperiods in Applied Energy. }} Jussi Kantola Concurrent enterprise: a conceptual framework for enterprise supplychain network activities in Enterprise Information Systems. }} Marko Kohtamäki, Vinit Parida and Joakim Vincent Network partner diversity, network capability, and sales growth in small firms in Journal of Business Research. }} Harry Lönnroth "Sie sagen skål und Herre gud und arrivederci": On the multilingual correspondence between Ellen Thesleff and Gordon Craig in Journal of Finnish Studies. }} Marko Kohtamäki an article Stretching strategic learning to the limit: the interaction between strategic planning and learning in Journal of Business Research.

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}} Marko Kohtamäki and Jukka Partanen Co-creating value from knowledge-intensive business services in manufacturing firms: The moderating role of relationship learning in supplier–customer interactions in Journal of Business Research. }} Waheed Akbar Bhatti, Jorma Larimo and Dafnis N. Coudounaris The Effect of Experiential Learning on Subsidiary Knowledge and Performance in Journal of Business Research. }} Jaana Rahko “Internationalization of corporate R6D activities and innovation performance” in Industrial and Corporate Change.

Book chapters / Level 3 publishers }} Adam Smale Leadership development challenges and dilemmas in multinational corporations in Leadership in Organizations: Current Issues and Key Trends by Routledge. }} Tommi Lehtonen Social investment and fiduciary responcibility in Routledge Handbook of Social and Sustainable Finance, by Routledge. }} Yi Wang, Jorma Larimo and Huu le Nguyen Multilevel analysis of ownership mode strategy on China in Business: Challenges and Solutions for Policy and Practice by Plagrave MacMillan.

Book chapters / Level 2 publishers }} Ahman Arslan and Jorma Larimo Establishment mode strategy of multinational enterprises in the emerging economies: influences of and the moderating interrelationships between cultural distance and economic freedom in Handbook of Contemporary Research on Emerging Markets by Edward Elgar. }} Ilkka Luoto Tapahtui Tankokarilla. Paikkaperustainen ajattelu ja paikan tekemisen tavat in Kunnat, rajat, kulttuuri. Muutoskokemuksia by Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seura.

Published by the University of Vaasa }} Breckle, Margit & Rinne, Marleena (2016). Yritysviestintä pohjalaismaakuntien ja saksankielisten maiden välillä. Unternehmenskommunikation zwischen Pohjanmaa und den deutschsprachigen Ländern. Selvityksiä ja raportteja 209. }} Reini, Kaarina (2016). Mielenterveyden edistämisen taloudelliset vaikutukset. Nuorten miesten syrjäytymistä ehkäisevän Aikalisä-tukipalvelun arviointi. Selvityksiä ja raportteja 208. }} Vik, Gun-Viol (2016). Fullmäktigeförsamlingar i ljuset av språklig växelverkan.

Tvåspråkighet i tre fullmäktigeförsamlingar. Selvityksiä ja raportteja 207. }} Reini, Kaarina & Honkatukia, Juha (2016). Hyvä hoito kannattaa. Diabeteksen ennaltaehkäisyn ja tehostetun hoidon kansantaloudellinen vaikuttavuus. Selvityksiä ja raportteja 206.

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Dissertations }

International R&D units improve the performance of firms People and policymakers in many developed countries are concerned that domestic firms appear to be increasingly locating their research and development activities abroad and may at the same time erode the national scientific capabilities.

However, according to Jaana Rahko’s doctoral dissertation this worry seems to be exaggerated. Her dissertation on the field of Economics presents research results showing that international research and development (R&D) activities increase the patenting and productivity of firms. She will defend her thesis at the University of Vaasa.

In her dissertation, Rahko examined European manufacturing firms and found out that research intensive firms benefit from having R&D facilities abroad.

“The firm-level benefits of international R&D can be seen in the number of patents, the technological diversity of patents as well as in the productivity of R&D investments”, Rahko describes.

The observed gains are associated with R&D investments targeted at more technologically advanced countries, whereas overseas R&D in countries that technologically lag behind the firm’s home country do not bring significant gains. According to Rahko these investments may be targeted at opening new markets for the firm’s products. Therefore, the gains of international R&D activities are not necessarily limited to improvements in firm innovativeness.

“It appears that the concerns regarding the national research capabilities do not have scientific foundation, because when firms learn from foreign competitors, universities and research institutes it can also support their performance and growth in the home country”, says Rahko. Therefore, public sector actions that support the exporting and internationalization of domestic firms could also consider international corporate learning as a part of their target.

In her article-based dissertation, Rahko has also studied the mobility of patent inventors. She finds that European firms’ patenting increases after inventor mobility, but only if they hire inventors with high prior productivity or who bring different kinds of technological expertise to the firm.

Also the outbound mobility of inventors had an effect on firm’s future patenting. Firm’s patenting decreased when the firm lost inventors who had high prior productivity or had worked in the firm’s core field of technology.

Loosing inventors who had been less productive or worked in non-core technological field did not harm future patenting.

14.10.2016 Rahko, Jaana (Economics)

Essays on R&D, knowledge spillovers and firm performance

Acta Wasaensia 357, Economics 10

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| Dissertations

1.4.2016 Toshev, Rayko (Industrial Management)

Risks and Prospects of Smart Electric Grids Systems measured with Real Options

Acta Wasaensia 346, Industrial Management 40

25.5.2016 HĂśglund, Maj-Brit (English language)

Re-Inventing the Cosmo Girl: How a Magazine Neutralizes Competing Discourses

Acta Wasaensia 348, Literary and Cultural Studies 9

20.5.2016 BoĂŤlius, Jaana (Business Law) Interregulation of oligopolistic markets

Acta Wasaensia 350, Business Law 16

26.5.2016 Marmutova, Svetlana (Electrical Engineering)

Performance of Savonius wind turbine in urban sites using CFD analysis

Acta Wasaensia 349, Electrical Engineering 4

27.5.2016 Makkonen, Paula (Management)

Self-initiated expatriate careers as resources, fit and actions

Acta Wasaensia 347, Business Administration 141

1.6.2016 Peltokangas, Hanna (Management) Leadership, Personality and Performance

Acta Wasaensia 351, Business Administration 142

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Dissertations }

1.6.2016 Sivula, Ari (Management) Generic Crowdsourcing Model for Holistic Innovation Management

Acta Wasaensia 355, Industrial Management 41

11.8.2016 Peltoketo, Veli-Tapani (Telecommunication Engineering) Benchmarking of Mobile Phone Cameras

Acta Wasaensia 352, Computer Science 16

13.8.2016 Mikkola, Piia A. (Modern Finnish)

Teksti, agenda, artefakti: Kehityskeskustelulomakkeen erilaiset roolit kehityskeskustelujen topikaalisissa siirtymissä

Acta Wasaensia 353, Linguistics 49

22.8.2016 Baidiuk, Dmytro (Mathematics)

Extension theory of operators in Krein and Pontryagin spaces and applications

Acta Wasaensia 354, Mathematics 13

16.9.2016 Palizban, Omid (Electrical Engineering)

Distributed Control Strategy for Energy Storage Systems in AC Microgrids: Towards a Standard Solution

Acta Wasaensia 356, Electrical Engineering 5

PDFs: www.uva.fi/en/research/publications/orders/database

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RESEARCH NEWS

| Current issues

VEBIC in progress Vaasa Energy Business Innovation Centre or VEBIC is a new research and innovation platform hosted by the University of Vaasa. Energy and sustainable development are very much in the core of the University of Vaasa strategy 2017–2020. VEBIC includes also two laboratories: an internal combustion engine laboratory and a separate but interconnected laboratory for fuel development. Laboratories are located in the new laboratory building in Palosaari campus. The new laboratory building was completed in June 2016. Instrumentation and laboratory equipment installations have started and will be completed by the end of 2016 (fuel laboratory) and spring 2017 (engine laboratory). More information: www.vebic.fi

EnergyLab building – the home of the new VEBIC laboratories.

The lifting of the tall chimney by the laboratory building.

VEBIC got a new advisory board with some 30 executives representing business and public administration extending the network and contributing the futher development of the centre.

Photos: RIIKKA KALMI, TIINA RAMSILA

1/2016

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