Mobilisation of issue networks: the case of fighting heart disease in Finland

In this study we examine the mobilisation processes of public, private and third sector actors to solve pressing contemporary issues. We develop an analytical framework that integrates the business network and institutional entrepreneurship literature to investigate the initial mobilisation processes of issue networks. Empirically, we focus on collective actions in Finland to tackle heart disease, which is a pressing global health issue. Our results stress the role of network mobilisers in creating institutional change by framing the issues and connecting different networks. We argue that network relationships are the key resource for creating institutional change and solving common issues.Peer reviewe

Network mobilizers and target firms: The case of saving the Baltic Sea

This paper examines why and how firms participate in issue networks that aim at solving contemporary complex problems. We build mainly on network and stakeholder literatures to understand mobilization from a relational perspective. Drawing on a single embedded case study of four initiatives to save the Baltic Sea, we build a multilevel model for firm participation in issue networks. Besides discovering diverse motivational factors, the model sheds light on the interaction between individual, organization, and network levels factors explaining mobilization. We argue that there is high theoretical, managerial, and societal relevance for studying the dynamics of issue networks—a topic which could be better incorporated in the research agenda of business network scholars.Peer reviewe

Value-based network mobilization: A case study of modern environmental networkers

This article addresses current environmental issues by taking a network perspective to examine the initiatives to solve them. Previous investigations of network dynamics and mobilization concern the business context, but we broaden the analysis to the societal networks wherein business is embedded. Our aim is to investigate the early emergence of collective action around a common issue. We analyze the network mobilizers, who promote the issue and its solutions, and the mobilization mechanisms that they employ. We have conducted a case study that examines three initiatives to save the Baltic Sea, all involving business, governmental, and civil society actors. This rich case material leads us to formulate a conceptual model of value-based network mobilization. The mobilizing actors, values, and relationship sediments emerge as important factors in creating issue networks. Our key contribution is to show how the environmental issues bring new types of actors to networks and change the rules of the game. We propose that ‘modern environmental networkers’ should become more important in the future, and that business firms need to develop their skills in playing the new games with these new actors.Peer reviewe

Beyond Prototypes: Drivers of Market Categorization in Functional Foods and Nanotechnology

We develop a nuanced understanding of what drives producers’ and audiences’ categorization activities throughout market category development. Prior research on market categories assumes prototypical similarity to be the main or even only driver of categorization. Drawing on a comparative, longitudinal case study of the market categories ‘functional foods’ and ‘nanotechnology’ in Finland, we find that evolving perceptions, knowledge, and goals also impact categorization. Furthermore, our analysis uncovers that goal-based categorization is characteristic for vital market categories, and the lack thereof may mark a waning interest and category decline. Overall, while previous research stresses the role of clear boundaries and knowledge bases for a viable category, we find that overly strict boundaries may constrain category vitality and renewal.Peer reviewe

MNCs and local cross-sector partnerships: The case of a smarter Baltic Sea

Although cross-sector partnerships (XSPs) between multinational corporations (MNCs), governments and non-profit organizations are increasingly used to solve local problems and build responsible business, they have received limited attention in international business research. Because XSPs are vulnerable to conflicts and pose specific demands for subsidiary managers, it is critical to understand the integration mechanisms of XSPs that enhance their success. We study managerial sensemaking in an XSP formed to improve the environmental state of the Baltic Sea. Drawing from a cross-disciplinary literature review and insights from a case study we identify three kinds of integration mechanisms: resource mechanisms, ideational and social mechanisms, and organizational mechanisms. Our findings further imply that managerial “bricolage”, i.e. strategically combining resources at hand, is critical in enacting the integration mechanisms. The findings help to understand how integration and success of MNCs' local partnerships may be increased.Peer reviewe

Scientists as Midwives to Cluster Emergence: An Institutional Work Framework

The question of how embedded actors can create institutions that support cluster emergence remains unsolved in the cluster and national innovation systems literature. The present paper extends the recent literature on institutional entrepreneurship and institutional work to solve this paradox of embedded agency in the context of science-based clusters. Building on a longitudinal single case study of a functional foods cluster in Finland, we present an institutional work framework for cluster formation. We argue that, in addition to ideational, material and bridging work, authentic leadership work is critical for cluster emergence. The results of the study highlight the opportunities that scientists have to act as midwives to cluster formation, but they also show that well-functioning clusters need a broader support base.Peer reviewe

Actors and institutions in the emergence of a new field : a study of the cholesterol-lowering functional foods market

Rapid scientific and technological progress has resulted in the blurring of traditional industry boundaries and in the emergence of new product markets and broader organisational fields. Despite recent scholarly interest in field emergence, there is still little knowledge on how new fields emerge at the intersection of established industries and on the multi-local nature of the phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of the interaction between actors and institutions in field emergence at the intersection of established industries and spatial scales ranging from local to global. This will be accomplished by building mainly on the literature on institutional entrepreneurship and importing conceptual ideas from social network theory and international business research. The main research question this study aims to answer is “How do new fields emerge from the interaction between actors and institutions at the intersection of established industries and spatial scales?” The study explores the topic through the emergence of the cholesterol-lowering functional foods market during the last two decades. Cholesterol-lowering functional foods represent a science-based field between the food and pharmaceutical industries. The societal relevance of studying functional foods is high as their medicine-like effects challenge conventional institutions regarding regulation, norms and consumer awareness of the relationship between food and health. The primary source of data is 32 semi-structured in-depth interviews carried out in Finland and the U.S. between late 2004 and April 2007. The interviewees consist of managers of MNCs and smaller startups, top scientists in the field, national public health authorities and regulative authorities. Further, a limited amount of participant observation data and a collection of secondary data such as trade journals and patent data is used. Finally, a comparative data set on nanotechnology was used in two co-authored essays on field emergence. This doctoral thesis is divided into two parts. The summary part concentrates on the theoretical and methodological foundations, while the second part consists of four essays, each exploring field emergence through different conceptual lenses. In Essay 1 we investigate the role of micro level activities induced by scientists in the emergence of a spatial cluster. The key contribution of the essay is an analytical division of the various roles played by scientists in cluster formation from the perspective of institutional change. In Essay 2, we depict how depending on their network positions, specific individuals and organisations may act as brokers that span structural holes between previously unconnected industries and disciplines, and hence trigger the emergence of new cross-industry and cross-disciplinary networks and influence the emerging institutions of a new field. The contribution of the essay is to combine social network theory and the literature on institutional entrepreneurship. In Essay 3, we discuss how institutional entrepreneurs in science-based fields mediate between globally circulating discourses and local institutions and competencies. The contribution of the essay is to investigate agency across spatial scales in order to address the central weakness of the institutional entrepreneurship approach, namely that of the concentration on geographically distinct and delimited areas. In Essay 4, I examine the cross-border transferability of the cholesterol-lowering functional foods concept. By building on neoinstitutional theory and on the recent advancement in international business research, I propose a novel concept of industry institutional distance, which is able to consider industry-specific dynamics in emerging fields. In summary, this research deepens the existing understanding on field emergence as a multi-local phenomenon. The results of this thesis indicate the fundamental importance of individual and organisational agency in field emergence. Scientists, enabled by their network position, knowledge and legitimacy, were found to transmit knowledge and practices between disciplines, established industries, and spatial scales. Successful field emergence further necessitates the collective mobilisation of a wide group of field participants and the receptiveness of the institutional environment. The results suggest that the ability to see beyond the boundaries of disciplines and industries and to operate in different institutional environments is crucial in field emergence and in building new product markets. The thesis concludes with a model of field emergence at the intersection of industries, disciplines and spatial scales demonstrating the complexities of the emergence of a new science-based fiel

Institutional Entrepreneurs and Local Embedding of Global Scientific Ideas - The Case of Preventing Heart Disease in Finland

Investigating the activities of institutional entrepreneurs at the intersection of local institutions and global influences in the context of science-based fields is necessary for further development of the institutional entrepreneurship approach. We draw on complementary insights from the literatures on institutional entrepreneurship, Scandinavian Institutionalism, social/intellectual movements and spatial scales to study the activities of scientists in the local institution of global scientific ideas. Building on a qualitative case study, a globally pioneering heart health initiative in Finland, we found that the scientific profession regulates agency in science-based fields; that the holistic view of scientists is necessary to understanding mobilization activities in this context; and that the capacity of scientists to operate across spatial scales defines their capability for institutional entrepreneurshi