The innovativeness of the Finnish high technology firms – The role of internal factors, cooperation, and the mobility of labour

Innovation is the driving force of the economy and it is the most important factor to the competitiveness of firms. Firms' capability to innovate, introduce new products to the market and develop new production methods has a significant effect on their success in the domestic and international markets. The role of innovativeness is emphasised particularly in the industries with a high growth rate and rapidly developing technology. This paper investigates the innovativeness of Finnish high technology firms, more precisely their local business units, between 1996 and 2002. Innovativeness of local business units is measured in terms of their ability to introduce both product and process innovations. The role of internal and external factors on the innovativeness of local units is analysed by the means of the probit analysis. An important and novel feature of my paper is that our data provides a unique chance to evaluate the role of two important channels of technological diffusion, R & D cooperation between the firms and institutions and the inter-firm mobility of labour for the innovativeness of high technology establishments. Econometric results reveal that internal factors of local units affect their ability to introduce product and process innovations differently. I find evidence that R & D cooperation, both between firms and between firms and research institutions, can act as a significant catalyst for innovation activity. Moreover, our empirical findings give some evidence that worker inflows, and thereby technology diffusion from other firms, has an effect on the innovativeness of the high technology establishments.

Regional Externalities in the Dynamic System of Three Regions

This study presents theoretical models of the role of externalities across two and three dimensional regional economy. Two decades ago Krugman (1981) developed a model of uneven regional development. He showed that initial discrepancy in capital-labour ratios of the two adjacent, competing regions will cumulate over time, and will inevitably lead to the division into the capital-rich and capital-poor regions. Kubo (1995) presented an extension to Krugman?s model by incorporating not only scale economies within the regions but also regional externalities across regions. His model provided an explanation for different regional development patterns: uneven, joint and the mix of these two. In this study Kubo?s analysis is extended to study the dynamic properties of the development of the three regions instead of two regions. We characterise dynamics and the stability of steady states in the three-region model. In particular, we show under what conditions steady state is unique, and if there can be multiple steady states. We show that condition for even regional development in Kubo?s model, i.e. regional externalities are stronger than scale economies in each regions, is necessary, but not a sufficient condition for even regional development in a case of three region. Our study sheds light on e.g. the regional development in Northern Finland. A few years ago the idea of the regional network of Northern Finland was launched. That idea was meant to spread the economic growth of the city of Oulu - technologically advanced core region - to smaller peripheral areas. Models of this study offer potentially interesting frameworks to analyse different regional development patterns. Furthermore, our model can be used to analyse, how the domination of core region affects the growth of peripheral regions and what kind of regional policy should be implemented to promote economic growth in the periphery. Keywords: Scale economies, regional externalities, regional development JEL classification: C61, R12

Machine learning and the identification of Smart Specialisation thematic networks in Arctic Scandinavia

The European Union (EU) has recognized that universities and research institutes play a critical role in regional Smart Specialisation processes. Our research aims to identify thematic cross-border research domains across space and disciplines in Arctic Scandinavia. We identify potential domains using an unsupervised machine-learning technique (topic modelling). We uncover latent topics based on similarities in the vocabulary of research papers. The proposed methodology can be utilized to identify common research domains across regions and disciplines in almost real time, thereby acting as a decision support system to facilitate cooperation among knowledge producers

The COVID-19 pandemic and regional economic resilience in northern Finland, Norway, and Sweden – bouncing back or not?

Source at https://arcticyearbook.com/.The COVID-19 pandemic has been first and foremost a health crisis, but it has also had severe negative impacts on the global economy. It has shaken regional economies, especially labour markets, over the last two years. Arctic regions are no exception. The aim of this article is to analyse the regional economic impacts, as well as the recovery processes, of the COVID19 pandemic in Arctic 5 cities in Northern Finland, Sweden, and Norway (Oulu and Rovaniemi in Finland, Luleå and Umeå in Sweden and Tromsø in Norway). In many countries, including Finland, Sweden and Norway, governments decreed various types of lockdown policies to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to such policies, the pandemic has had an asymmetrical impact not only on individuals but also on communities and regions. This has given new urgency to a place-based approach to regional development, mitigating territorial inequalities. Our goal is to study how hard the Arctic 5 cities have been hit by the COVID-19 shock and how well they have been able to absorb, adapt to and recover from the crisis. The research question thus focuses on the resilience of the regions. In this study, we focus on the analysis of public statistics concerning the development of labour markets. We also analyse change

Business Index North

publishedVersio

Palvelutiskin toiminnan kehittäminen : esimerkkinä K-Citymarket Skanssi

Tämän opinnäyteyön tarkoituksena oli tarkastella keinoja, joilla voidaan vaikuttaa palvelutiskin ja erityisesti sen lounaspalveluiden toiminnan kehittämiseen yleisesti, sekä erityisesti Citymarket Skanssissa. Teoreettisessa viitekehyksessä käydään läpi tämänhetkistä ja tulevaa tilannetta palvelutiskin ja vähittäiskaupan lounaspalveluiden suhteen. Näiden toimintaa on läpi opinnäytetyön arvioitu eri mainonta-, myynti – ja asiakaspalvelukeinojen kautta, miettien soveltamismahdollisuuksia. Nykyajan mainonnasta käydään läpi mm. Internetin ja sosiaalisen median taitavan käytön tärkeyttä, sekä niiden käyttömahdollisuuksia esimerkiksi lounaspalveluiden edistämiseksi. Asianmukainen koulutus ja innostaminen asiakaspalvelu – ja myyntityöhön on välttämätöntä, jotta asiakaskunta säilyy ja uusia asiakkaita saadaan. Asiakaspalvelua kilpailuetuna ei tulisi sivuuttaa. Osana opinnäyteyötä on toteutettu tutkimus Skanssin liikekeskuksen henkilökunnalle, jossa kartoitettiin yleisesti lounastottumuksia, Citymarket Skanssin lounaspalveluiden käyttöä sekä mielipiteitä tämänhetkisistä lounaspalveluista. Opinnäytetyön tutkimusosio oli sekä kvalitatiivinen että kvantitatiivinen. Tutkimuksen aineistonkeruumenetelmänä käytettiin puolistrukturoitua kyselylomaketta. Kyselyn täytti 158 Skanssin liikekeskuksen työntekijää, joista analysoitiin 150 työntekijän vastaukset. Tuloksista kävi ilmi, että vähän alle 40 % valitsee juuri Citymarket Skanssin lounaspalvelut vähintään kerran viikossa. Monet kokivat Citymarketin olevan hyvällä etäisyydellä omalta työpaikalta. Moni koki tuotteet myös itselleen sopivan hintaisiksi ja terveellisiksi. Toisaalta osa vastaajista, jotka ilmoittivat käyttävänsä kyseisiä lounaspalveluja harvemmin, pitivät hintoja itselleen liian korkeina. Kysyttäessä asiakaskunnan toiveita lounastarjonnasta, selvästi esiin nousivat parannusehdotukset sekä salaattien että patonkien suhteen. Monet toivoivat takaisin vanhaa käytäntöä, jossa valmiiseen salaattipohjaan saa valita mieleiset lisäainekset. Patongeista toivottiin entistä täyteläisempiä ja suurempia. Kokonaisuudessaan toivottiin lisää valinnanvaraa. Tärkeimmiksi tekijöiksi onnistuneessa lounaskokemuksessa nostettiin lounasruuan helppous ja nopea saatavuus, edullinen hinta sekä laadukas ja terveellinen ruoka.The purpose of this study was to investigate ways that could help develop the retail stores of service points and especially lunch services in general and more specifically in Citymarket Skanssi. The current and future situation of service points and lunch services are viewed in the theoretical context. Different ways of applying advertising, selling and customer service into these services are evaluated throughout the study. When it comes to current advertising methods, the skillful use of the Internet and social media and the possibilities of using them in promoting lunch services, for example, are viewed in this study. Efficient training and inspiring to customer service and selling are essential to maintaining and gaining clientele. Customer service as a competitive advantage should not be put aside. As a part of this study, a survey has been conducted of the staff of the shopping center Skanssi. The survey's goal was to identify lunch habits in general, the usage of Citymarket's lunch services and opinions concerning current lunch resources. The material of this study is both qualitative and quantitative. The material was collected with a half-structured questionnaire. 158 members of the staff filled in the questionnaire, and 150 of the given answers were analyzed. The results showed that little less than 40 % choose lunch services of Citymarket Skanssi at least once a week. Many taught that Citymarket is at an appropriate distance from their work places. Many taught that the price of the products was appropriate and the products were healthy. However, some of the staff members who said that they used lunch services less frequently taught that the prizes were too high for them. When asked about wishes for lunch products, most common suggestions were about salads and baguettes. Many wished that the old way of serving salad lunches would be restored so that customers could choose additional ingredients into the basic salad portion. People also wished for fuller and bigger baguettes. All in all, many wished for a wider selection in the service points. To a successful lunch experience people valued the easiness of lunch food and fast availability together with a low price and healthy and high quality food

The effects of R&D cooperation and labour mobility on innovation

Abstract The purpose of this dissertation is to contribute both theoretically and empirically to the literature of regional economics. We aim to provide theoretical insights and explanations as well as interesting empirical findings which are relevant for the analyses of the regional development. Chapter two reviews the literature on new growth theory, economic geography, geography of innovation and innovation process. We illustrate connections between these strands of literature from the perspective of technological development and its diffusion. We discuss the role of innovation activity, technological development, and especially knowledge spillovers in economic growth, and clarify their microeconomic linkages to endogenous macroeconomic growth. In chapter three we shed additional light on the role of intra-regional economies of scale and inter-regional externalities in regional economic growth. Chapter provides interesting theoretical insights and explanations for the analysis of regional development. In chapters four to seven we analyse how the establishments' individual characteristics and their R&D cooperation with other firms and organizations as well as sectoral and geographical origins of their labour acquisitions affects the innovation performance of the establishments. We try to isolate the independent role on innovation performance played by knowledge transfers associated with localised human-capital mobility from those associated with inter-firm and inter-organisational tacit knowledge spillovers. No previous studies, as far as we are aware, have been able to empirically identify and distinguish in such a detailed and comprehensive manner as in this dissertation the effects of these two, qualitatively quite different types of knowledge transfer mechanisms on innovation

Mobipol-puhelimen käyttöönotto ja käyttökokemukset Jyväskylän poliisiasemalla

Mobipol-puhelimien käyttöönotto ja käyttökokemukset Jyväskylän poliisiasemalla on tutkimuksellinen opinnäytetyö. Tutkimuksen tarkoitus on selvittää, ovatko uudet työpuhelimet (Mobipol-puhelimet) vaikuttaneet Jyväskylän poliisiasemalla poliisitoiminnan tehokkuuteen ja työturvallisuuteen, sekä millaiset poliisimiesten kokemukset ovat olleet niiden käytöstä. Tutkimuksen tarkoitus on myös luoda informaatiota Jyväskylän poliisiasemalle, sekä Mobipol -hankkeelle. Halusimme myös ottaa tutkimuksessa esille mahdollisia kehityskohteita. Rajasimme tutkimuksen kohdentuvan vain Jyväskylän poliisiaseman valvonta- ja hälytyssektorin sekä liikennesektorin poliiseihin. Tutkimus toteutettiin käyttämällä sekä kvalitatiivista että kvantitatiivista tutkimusmenetelmää. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin haastatteluilla ja Webropol-kyselyllä. Haastatteluihin osallistui viisi ja kyselyyn vastasi 14 poliisimiestä. Tutkimustuloksista selvisi, että Mobipol-puhelin on koettu tarpeelliseksi työvälineeksi, joka on käytössä päivittäin. Sen on huomattu vaikuttavan niin positiivisesti kuin negatiivisestikin työtehtävien tehokkuuteen sekä työturvallisuuden ylläpitoon. Ongelmakohtia uudesta työpuhelimesta on löydetty ja kehitystä odotetaan. Mobipol-puhelin on kuitenkin tervetullut uudistus, joka on tullut tukemaan päivittäistä poliisityötä. Mobipol-puhelin, jota käsittelimme tutkimuksessamme, on sen ensimmäinen versio. Toinen versio puhelimesta on jo tämän opinnäytetyön valmistuessa otettu käyttöön. Siinä on otettu huomioon jo osa kehittämiskohteista, joita tässäkin tutkimuksessa tulee esille. Mobipol-puhelin on jatkuvan kehityksen alla, sillä tietotekniikkaa päivitetään jatkuvasti

Firm innovation: The influence of R&D cooperation and the geography of human capital inputs

This paper investigates the role played by the geography of labor inputs in the promotion of innovation. Knowledge can be transferred between firms by inter-firm interactions and inter-firm cooperation. In addition, knowledge can also be transferred between firms by human capital mobility. In order to examine these issues we employ a unique innovation dataset from Finland. This dataset provides information about a firm's innovation performance along with information regarding the origins of a firm's recent labor acquisitions. The origins of the labor are defined according to both the industry and the region. Analyzing these data allows us to identify the different roles which the geography of knowledge exchanges and the geography of labor markets play in the innovation process