Browsing by Author "Salmivaara, Virva"
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Item Entrepreneurial identity of freelancers and their relationship to online platforms: a qualitative study in the Finnish context(2021) Veijola, Linda; Salmivaara, Virva; Johtamisen laitos; Kauppakorkeakoulu; School of BusinessIn the modern business world, flexible working methods have raised the demand for a project-based workforce. Freelancing has grown around the globe extensively in recent years. Digitaliza-tion has made freelancing easier since the work can, in most parts, be allocated online. Lately, two-sided platform business models have been applied to several sectors - employment markets as well. Entrepreneurial identity has been a growing body of entrepreneurship literature, but it has not extended in a freelance context. Freelancers is an appealing context because we do not know to what extent they can be considered entrepreneurs and understand better how freelancers define themselves in relation to entrepreneurialism. Social identity (Fauchart and Gruber, 2011) and role identity (Mathias and Williams, 2017) have been applied to entrepreneurship successfully. In this study, the developed theories will be applied to freelancers to explore the entrepreneurial identity of freelancers. Additionally, this thesis takes into consideration how the entrepreneurial identity of freelancers evolves in the online platform economy, where anyone can, by setting up a profile, call themselves an entrepreneur. The fundamental research aim is to explore the entrepreneurial identity among freelancers and their relationship to freelance platforms. The study conducted a qualitative research with semi-structured thematic interviews with seven different freelance representatives. A framework combining freelancing, entrepreneurial identity, and online freelance platforms was built to support the research. The key reason to become a freelancer is often the freedom it provides. Freelancing allows work-ing entrepreneurially and according to an individual's personal needs, enabling them to work where and when they wish. Online freelance platforms are seen as good opportunities to discover new work opportunities. However, the larger a platform grows, the problematic it becomes to free-lancers that have a more entrepreneurial identity. In the Nordics, where the price level is higher than globally, the price convergence makes globally operating online freelance unattractive. Fur-thermore, small projects are often economically unprofitable after wage reductions. Though the price level needs to be kept low initially in the competitive global freelance platforms, the possibil-ity of doing small projects is an opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills. Therefore, it may result in faster progress in entrepreneurship or consider it more seriously. However, the attitudes towards freelance platforms and the entrepreneurial identity depend on the occupation of a free-lancer. Some professions might push the person to freelance since it is the best working method in their field. The findings of this thesis offer practical implications for online freelance platforms, freelancers, and the educational sector.Item The evaluative legitimacy of social entrepreneurship in capitalist welfare systems(2018-12) Kibler, Ewald; Salmivaara, Virva; Stenholm, Pekka; Terjesen, Siri; Department of Management Studies; Sustainability in Business; University of Turku; American UniversitySocial entrepreneurs start ventures to tackle social problems, and these ventures have the potential to outperform other social service providers in welfare states. We leverage theories of legitimacy and Varieties of Capitalism to examine national experts’ (N = 361) assessments of the efficiency of social enterprises relative to state and civil society. Our multilevel analysis across 11 welfare states shows that social enterprises are perceived as a more efficient solution to social problems when a liberal or socialist logic dominates a given state's market coordination and social welfare provision. However, when institutional logics are in conflict, the assigned legitimacy of social entrepreneurship is diminished.Item Evolving organizational culture in an internationalizing rapid-growth company – case study on Finnish tech industry(2019) Laakkonen, Terho; Salmivaara, Virva; Johtamisen laitos; Kauppakorkeakoulu; School of BusinessItem How can diplomacy foster sustainable innovations? A case study of Finnish policies(2020) Nguyen, Thi; Salmivaara, Virva; Johtamisen laitos; Kauppakorkeakoulu; School of BusinessAs sustainable development and innovation diplomacy remain key topics in foreign economic, trade and security policies nowadays, innovation is increasingly linked closely with sustainable development into a compiled concept of sustainable innovation. My thesis addresses the question of how diplomacy can foster these sustainable innovations. The context is that global challenges with regard to sustainable development is a central issue in diplomacy, which call for joint actions and changes in policy in order to address them and achieve sustainable development goals under the Agenda 2030. Examining Finland as the case study, qualitative research method is applied, and data collection and analysis draw upon official reports presenting Finnish, EU and Nordic policies of sustainable development and innovation diplomacy in addition to virtual interviews with Finnish policy advisors and specialists of the fields. In total, there are 10 reports reviewed, including Finnish Voluntary National Review, Policy brief, Policy report, and Global Competitiveness Report published by Finnish Prime Minister's Office, Nordic Council of Ministers, OECD, Taloustieto Oy, Sitra, World Economic Forum, World Bank Publications, United Nations, and Research.fi from 2009-2020, all that provide data of policy overviews and strategies, national and regional plans, progress and performance evaluation. There are 7 interviewees who are Ministerial Adviser, Senior Advisor, Senior Specialist and Programme Manager that can provide valid insights due to their knowledge and expertise working for Helsinki EU Office, the Finnish Environment Institute SYKE, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Nordic Innovation, and Nordic Development Fund. I argue that dimensions of sustainable development be put into the centre of innovation diplomacy policies and hence, the policies can enable global stakeholders to cope with challenges by advanced sustainable innovations generated from the soft power and diplomatic approaches. The outcome of thorough literature reviews and intensive empirical work of this thesis is a framework of diplomacy policies categorised into the domains of innovation diplomacy and sustainable development diplomacy at local, national and regional levels, whose interventions can advance sustainable innovations and simultaneously address key policy challenges of sustainable innovations: balance private sector needs and market dynamics with the global public good; and identify, evaluate and address economic, social or environmental trade-offs among stakeholders doing sustainable innovations. As a result, the findings from the EU, Nordic and Finland works will proliferate the framework further, complementing the theoretical concepts of international relations and innovation policy, the theory of system thinking in improving mechanism of operation between actors in innovation ecosystems, and adding examples of diplomatic approaches in governance of sustainable innovation from the field work- all together supplementing the previous studies of sustainable innovation, innovation diplomacy and sustainable development diplomacy. In conclusion, the thesis reinforces diplomacy as one strategic governance model that fosters sustainable innovations and comprehensively enables global stakeholders to address sustainable development goals at all levels.Item How can team members foster team creativity? - A process perspective(2021) Nguyen, Nga; Salmivaara, Virva; Johtamisen laitos; Kauppakorkeakoulu; School of BusinessCreativity can lead to innovations that give entrepreneurs the competitive edge and help businesses and society grow. There is evidence on the benefits of doing creative work in teams, and team creativity is perceived to generate better ideas and outcomes than any members working alone could do, either separately or altogether. However, even such benefits are widely perceived, different research has pointed out that there are different factors that negatively impact the productivity of team creativity, resulting in members’ reluctance to corporate, process losses and eventually lower performance. This paper aims to study what challenges team members are facing when doing creative work in teams, along the creative process, and suggest the solutions that can help overcome those challenges. In order to study the main research question above, 4 sub research areas were explored: (1) the importance of team creativity in relation to project outcome, (2) the environment supportive of team creativity, (3) challenges that hinders members in doing creative work together in idea generation stage and the solutions (4) challenges that hinders members in doing creative work together in problem solving stage and the solutions. The thesis then develops a theoretical framework based on prior literature on creative process, and literature on factors that impact team creativity as well as suggestions to foster team creativity. Guided by this framework, the thesis utilises focus group interviews amongst two student teams from Hyper Island School in Motion Design program in Sweden, who worked together in client projects during their study in the program. The data is analysed using theoretical thematic analysis. Findings have found that all participants perceived the importance of team creativity in relation to project result. Moreover, when moving along the creative process, participants have consistently identified 3 areas that they are facing challenges, which at the same time are also the areas of potential improvements. These areas include (1) managing trust, (2) managing conflicts, and (3) managing role divisions and decision-making structures. These three areas are also present throughout the creative process: in the environment (identified as an “umbrella” solution for the whole creative process), in the idea generation stage and problem-solving stage. The thesis contributes to the research on creativity specifically on the process and team level, and to the research area of innovation and entrepreneurship, especially since creativity and innovation are closely related constructs under entrepreneurship. Moreover, results from the study might give team members, managers, and entrepreneurs some suggestions and guides on how to improve the team creativity in their organisations.Item How does late-career entrepreneurship relate to innovation?(ELSEVIER SCIENCE B.V., 2023-07) Murmann, Martin; Salmivaara, Virva; Kibler, Ewald; Department of Management Studies; Sustainability in Business; Bern University of Applied Sciences; Audencia Business SchoolIn this paper, we present an explorative study that develops our understanding of the relationship between late-career entrepreneurship and innovation-driven business activity. Based on observations of 2903 solo founders of new ventures in Germany in 2008–2017, we offer first and robust evidence that late-career entrepreneurs (~50 years and above) are more likely than younger founders to introduce product/service innovations that are ‘new to the market’. Our explorations specifically reveal that older founders who draw on personal financial resources and combine their innovation orientation with prior managerial experience are most likely to generate the types of innovations that bring new products or services to the market. We conclude by discussing how our study's insights contribute to the research agenda on innovations in late-career entrepreneurship.Item Improving employee agility in operations organization - The role of organizational structure and employee practices(2020) Enarvi, Julius; Salmivaara, Virva; Johtamisen laitos; Kauppakorkeakoulu; School of BusinessItem Legitimacy of Entrepreneurship in Sustainable Development Debates(Aalto University, 2017) Salmivaara, Virva; Kibler, Ewald, Assistant Prof., Aalto University, Department of Management Studies, Finland; Johtamisen laitos; Department of Management Studies; Kauppakorkeakoulu; School of BusinessThis dissertation seeks to advance research at the nexus of entrepreneurship and sustainable development by moving the analysis from particular enterprises to entrepreneurship as a societal phenomenon. It shifts our focus away from entrepreneurs themselves to those who assess the relevance of entrepreneurship for the pursuit of sustainable development. In order to better understand the legitimacy of entrepreneurship as a means for sustainable development in different societal contexts, this dissertation addresses three important questions: what is expected from entrepreneurship in sustainable development, where it is valued as a solution for social problems, and how it is legitimised in a local context. Paper 1 explores what is expected from entrepreneurship in connection to sustainable development. It applies Toulmin's rhetoric theory to reveal the implicit legitimacy assumptions in European Union policy texts. The findings explain in which ways entrepreneurship is considered legitimate and for what exactly in the policy argumentation. Paper 2 investigates where entrepreneurship is valued as a solution for solving social problems by conducting a quantitative analysis across 11 different capitalist welfare states within and beyond Europe. The results present legitimacy-enhancing and legitimacy-diminishing political-institutional conditions in which groups of national experts prefer entrepreneurial solutions over those provided by the state or civil society organisations. Paper 3 theorises how entrepreneurship becomes accepted as a means for sustainable development in a local community. It develops an integrative, theoretical framework for understanding community transformation through (the legitimation of) community enterprising endeavours. The dissertation contributes to both academia and policy-making by illuminating the ideological, political and social origins of the legitimacy of entrepreneurship as a means for sustainable development. It carries out research at three societal levels and offers initial insight for the further development of a multilevel view on the legitimacy of entrepreneurship in sustainable development debates.Item Managing Finnish-Russian joint ventures. Best practices for a culturally considerate parent.(2008) Salmivaara, Virva; Markkinoinnin ja johtamisen laitos; Department of Marketing and Management; Kauppakorkeakoulu; School of BusinessItem Post-failure impression management: A typology of entrepreneurs’ public narratives after business closure(SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2021-02-01) Kibler, Ewald; Mandl, Christoph; Farny, Steffen; Salmivaara, Virva; Department of Management Studies; Sustainability in BusinessWhat are the strategies entrepreneurs apply to present business closure to public audiences? Most entrepreneurs choose to communicate venture failure publicly so as to foster a favorable impression of failure, in effect engaging in impression management to maintain and/or repair their professional reputation for future career actions. To date, however, the focus of most research has been on managing failure within organizational settings, where organizational actors can interact closely with their audiences. We know little about entrepreneurs’ strategies in presenting failure to public audiences in cases where they have limited opportunities for interaction. In response to this, we present an analysis of public business-closure statements to generate a typology of five venture-failure narratives—Triumph, Harmony, Embrace, Offset, and Show—that explains entrepreneurs’ distinct sets of impression-management strategies to portray failure in public. In conclusion, we theorize from our public venture-failure typology to discuss how our work advances understanding of the interaction between organizational failure, impression management, and entrepreneurial narratives.Item The pursuit of international opportunity Multiple case study of Finnish SMEs opportunity recognition and exploitation in Sub-Saharan Africa(2018) Assefa Yirdaw, Makeda; Salmivaara, Virva; Johtamisen laitos; Kauppakorkeakoulu; School of BusinessThis thesis studies internationalization of Finnish SMEs into Sub-Saharan Africa. The study aims to investigate how Finnish SMEs recognize and exploit international opportunity into Sub-Saharan Africa. Primarily the study focuses on key decision makers, probing what kind of factors influence international opportunity recognition process in Finnish SMEs and secondarily if their decision-making mode to pursue the recognized opportunity is affected by the recognition process. The study uses International Entrepreneurship (IE) as a theoretical lens to capture the phenomena better. Undertaking the research with an opportunity-based approach, the study reviews the opportunity theory - formation and generation of opportunity; major influential factors of opportunity recognition from SMEs perspective. Furthermore, as an opportunity is meaningful only when acted upon, the literature review is extended to include SMEs international market selection, and SMEs market entry mode from SMEs key decision makers, decision-making perspective. Employing a qualitative research method, the research adopted multiple case study, with the empirical data collected via an interview of the key decision makers who are directly involved in the case company’s internationalization process into Sub-Saharan Africa. In an attempt to present the reader with a more profound understanding of the phenomenon as it happens from the case company’s perspective, an interpretivist approach has been used. This also allows to share each case company’s own experiences and avoid unnecessary generalizations. The findings presented exhibit social networks as predominate influential factors in international opportunity recognition for the case companies, while prior knowledge (prior knowledge of markets, prior knowledge of ways to serve markets, and prior knowledge of customer problems (Shane, 2000, p.452) appear as the second most influential factors. In addition, the study finds a coherent link between opportunity recognition factors and market selection and entry mode selection (opportunity exploitation). When companies recognize opportunities through social networks their decision to pursue such opportunity tends to be with no or limited planning, set unclear objective. On the other hand, when the international opportunities recognition is as a result of a combination of entrepreneurial alertness, prior knowledge the decision made is rational and strategic.Item Radikaali psykologinen turvallisuus tilapäisorganisaation luovan ja tuloksellisen toiminnan mahdollistajana(HALLINNON TUTKIMUKSEN SEURA, 2020) Salmivaara, Virva; Martela, Frank; Heikkilä, Jukka-Pekka; Johtamisen laitos; Tuotantotalouden laitosPsychological safety in temporary organisations We explore how psychological safety—a team’s shared experience that it is safe to take inter-per- sonal risks—is possible in temporary self-man- aging organisations. Our findings present team- work practices used by a highly diverse group that constructed a complex art installation for the Burning Man festival. Based on a question- naire and a qualitative analysis of 20 interviews, we suggest that the team experienced radically high psychological safety because it defined the project’s concept through co-creation, gave par- ticipants complete freedom to choose their roles, and collectively challenged participantsItem “Rhetoric Mix” of Argumentations: How Policy Rhetoric Conveys Meaning of Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development(Wiley, 2020-07-01) Salmivaara, Virva; Kibler, Ewald; Department of Management Studies; Sustainability in BusinessPolicymakers increasingly demand private enterprises to help solve social and ecological challenges faced by nations worldwide. In this article, we use Toulmin’s rhetoric model to explain how European Union policy rhetoric articulates the meaning of entrepreneurship for sustainable development. Our findings demonstrate a “rhetoric mix” of argumentations through which policy rhetoric conveys three meanings of entrepreneurship—beneficiary in corrective sustainability, contributor in constructive sustainability, and opportunistic operator in assertive sustainability—and imposes shared beliefs that frame the policy discourse. In conclusion, we introduce a framework of “rhetoric mix” to advance research on entrepreneurship policy discourse and sustainable entrepreneurship.Item Supporting refugees in entrepreneurship(2018) Chliova, Myrto; Farny, Steffen; Salmivaara, Virva; Department of Management Studies
