Tuija Mainela

University of Oulu · Department of Management

This study addresses the scantly examined work done by individuals to develop reciprocal relationships and maintain momentum throughout public-private innovation partnerships. We combine insights from the public-private innovation partnership literature with the notion of relational work from economic-sociology to analyse cases of public procuremen...

Healthcare is a challenging field for innovation: it is characterised by complex regulation and needs for enhanced collaboration between public and private actors who differ in terms of their motivations, innovation needs, and institutional logics. These complexities relate to multiple ways of approaching value capture in terms of securing financia...

In light of climate change inflicted extreme events—such as floods, fires, droughts, storms, and hurricanes, along with the consequent widespread business disruptions—supply chain resilience (SCR) has emerged as a critical tool to sustain business performance. However, little in-depth theoretical and empirical research has been conducted in relatio...

This article explores preconditions and developmental dynamics of institutional innovation in higher education organizations as an outcome of a collaborative educational initiative – a university-based experimental space. Such collaborative learning configurations are often designed to stimulate local economic development after a downturn in region...

We propose the concept of opportunity belief as a means of understanding individuals as the interpreters of their contexts over the internationalization process of a firm. To illustrate the concept, we conducted a microhistorical analysis on one of the largest forest industry MNEs with an internationalization history of more than 150 years. Histori...

This study addresses the question of how organizations, as parts of global value chains, may respond to, and in some situations initiate, transformations of international opportunities and how that is related to the business model change. It examines the forms of international opportunities and argues that different sources of transformation affect...

This study examines the legitimation of actors in international networks of emerging markets. Based on a network view of markets and literature on organizational legitimacy, we conceptualize actor legitimation as a process intertwined with the dynamics of international networks. We then draw on analyses of 78 legitimation episodes from interviews w...

The focus of this paper is on novel, multi-organizational hybrid forms of organizing in a healthcare context. The paper contributes to organizational hybridity research, which has prominently drawn from the neo-institutional theory’s notion of institutional logics and conceptualized hybrid organizations as combining distinct logics in their operati...

The present study approaches the internationalisation of family MNCs through the concept of a management model to examine the enactment of family values in the practice of MNC units. The study relies on the MNCs-as-network-organisations perspective, according to which an MNC is a complex web of interdependent relationships with subsidiaries embedde...

Prior research on professional boundary work emphasises the importance of subtle interactions among affected individuals when a new role is inserted into an established professional setting, which inevitably changes the prevalent division of labour. Thus, managers may set reflective spaces for professionals to collaboratively arrange their boundari...

Purpose: While previous health-care-related hybridity research has focused on macro- and micro-level investigations, this paper aims to study hybridization at the organizational level, with a specific focus on decision-making. The authors investigate how new politico-economic expectations toward a university hospital as a hybrid organization becom...

The present study approaches opportunities in international entrepreneurship from a systemic perspective. Based on research on the collectiveness of opportunities in international entrepreneurship and the concepts of activity and object from activity theory, we develop a systemic conceptualization of opportunity-oriented international entrepreneurs...

Purpose The present study examines subsidiary positioning within the dynamic business networks in the context of multinational companies (MNCs). The research question of the study is: How does the positioning of a subsidiary emerge through strategic practices in the dynamic business networks of an MNC? Design/methodology/approach The study relie...

The objective of the present study is to examine the strategizing of start-ups in a network context. The paper depicts start-up strategizing as an intertwined activity of identification and boundary-drawing. The questions of network identity and network boundaries become salient in times of disengagement by a primary customer or when there is a nee...

The present study approaches international venturing with a deep contextualized view, emphasizing the social setting in which international entrepreneurial behavior is embedded. Relying on a review of research on contextual influences on international entrepreneurship and the concept of high-growth venturing, we develop a conceptualization of a col...

International entrepreneurship (IE) as a field of research has emerged at the intersection of internationalization and entrepreneurship theories. At this intersection it has come to emphasize the activities centered on international opportunities. International opportunities, then, are about value creation and competitive imperfections in internati...

Entrepreneurial activity is currently a primary concern of many developed economies that struggle with changes in their industrial structures. Many of the traditionally strong industries are encountering strong global competition and declining markets, and national competitiveness is often said to be built on new entrepreneurial firms that are able...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the formation of strategic networks between second-tier actors in the context of a construction megaproject. The research question addressed is: How do second-tier strategic networks form in high uncertainty projects? Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative single-case study, which examines...

The present study approaches the internationalization of multinational companies (MNCs) through the concept of management model to examine the managerial practices of both the headquarters and subsidiaries in organizing for international sales in industry specific networks. The concept of management model draws attention to the choices a firm makes...

In this introductory article, we discuss international opportunities in international entrepreneurship as a particular phenomenon that focuses on boundary crossing. Instead of taking boundary crossing primarily as a behavior or an activity that makes opportunities international, we suggest the boundary itself and being on the borderline, as such, t...

Over the past few decades, alliance and networks have been generally examined individually. This Handbook sheds new light on this research by combining the two topics and focuses on highlighting their similarities. The expert contributors discuss topics surrounding the state-of-the-art in alliance and network research, conceptual development in all...

International opportunities in the global markets are increasingly organized through various types of hybrids, such as alliances and networks. Hybrids have also been seen as a key organizing logic of international new ventures, the study of which triggered the emergence of the field of international entrepreneurship (IE). For that reason, we expect...

Global suppliers' relationships with their global customers tend to be complex, as each consists of multiple geographical, technological and functional units. For a supplier to manage these customer relationships, some shared views of each relationship are likely to be needed for consistency of activities. This creates a need within supplier MNCs t...

The present study approaches multinational corporations as internal networks that are constantly newly organized on the basis of relationships, operations, activities, and tasks at hand. It combines MNCs-as-networks view with the research on supplier–customer relationship development to conceptualize the relational dynamics in the MNCs. The dynamic...

http://jultika.oulu.fi/Record/nbnfi-fe201802263583 Recent research in the field of international entrepreneurship (IE) has emphasized the concept of international opportunity. The entrepreneurial behaviors focused on international opportunities have been found to be critical in IE. International opportunities, however, are often depicted in rather...

This research examines the intermediary roles that advertising agencies perform between small local advertisers and a mobile advertising service provider. The intermediary roles have been left unexplored, although the agencies have influence on their client’s decisions to use new media. A real-life experiment of new mobile advertising system was co...

The book at hand aims to shed light on longitudinal research methods in studies of organizations. A fundamental question immediately arises in the mind of the curious researcher: what is longitudinal research and what methods does it apply in organization research? In this paper, we discuss one type of qualitative longitudinal methodology, namely p...

The purpose of this paper is to contribute into the emerging startup ecosystem discussion that has potential to make a significant impact on future research and understanding of entrepreneurship and firm growth. We begin by discussing the economic actors that are generally seen as the structural components of a startup ecosystem, and by application...

In this article we regard embeddedness in relationship networks as a key issue in the development of an international joint venture (IJV). We look at IJVs from a perspective which highlights the role of network relationships and of networking behaviour. This perspective suggests that the development of an IJV is not a dyadic or an organisation-leve...

This paper examines emergence of international new ventures by combining the network approach-based internationalization research and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition research to examine the networking processes for emergence of international new ventures. Specifically we aim to find out how entrepreneurs use relationships to create a basis...

Recent research in the field of international entrepreneurship (IE) has emphasized the concept of international opportunity. The entrepreneurial behaviors focused on inter-national opportunities have been found to be critical in IE. International opportunities, however, are often depicted in rather abstract and unspecified ways, and the research su...

Current views on value creation emphasize the role of the customer, mutual investments, and value co-creation. Nevertheless, at present the customer-focused research concentrates on value expectations and value experiences as outcomes but disregards the analysis of potential value that is dependent on the customer’s activity and learning in the pro...

Purpose - The aim of the present study is to examine the role of personal interaction in customer relationship management in the project business. The research question we address is: How is personal interaction intertwined with the management of customer relationships in the project business? Design/methodology/approach - We connect an extensive...

This study focuses on the use of mentoring by a peer as a way to help teachers of marketing to develop their teaching skills. Using self-ethnography, we elaborate on the potential of intradepartmental faculty mentoring in teaching (FMIT) to enhance the quality of marketing education. The study describes FMIT, a novel type of mentoring, reviews its...

Purpose The aim of this paper is to identify the effects of business cycles on industrial business‐to‐business relationships within extremely volatile industries. Design/methodology/approach The paper is an in‐depth case study on Outotec plc, a leading provider of technologies for the mining and metal industries. Findings The study identifies the...

Highlights ► The interaction between the supplier and the customer is a central element of conducting business. It is essential to appreciate that customer involvement is closely intertwined with both uniqueness and coordination of work. ► The definition of the uniqueness of projects should consider both the uniqueness of the customer demands and t...

This commentary essay explores some conceptual elements for research on new business formation as opportunity creation in resource networks and goes on to examine the methodological requirements of such research. Ciabuschi, Perna and Snehota (this issue) provide an interesting discussion and illuminating case study on new business formation through...

he complexity of business relationships and networks presents particular challenges to researchers aiming to investigate processes over time. Critical Realism is proving to be particularly apposite in the study of such processes. Notwithstanding the growing use of critical realism, we acknowledge that is not an easy ontology to apply. In addition,...

Despite their popularity in nowadays business international joint ventures have proven very difficult to manage. The previous research on international joint ventures has been claimed unable to advice managers in leading the ventures towards successful long-term development. In this paper the research on joint ventures is analysed and a new avenue...

This study aims at increasing our understanding of the behavioural aspects of networks in international business by analysing the organizing process of foreign business units in new markets. The business context for the analysis consists of the intercultural setting which exists in joint ventures between market economy and transition economy firms....

Purpose The purpose of this research is to analyze the development of high‐tech international new ventures as an acting process by individuals in relationship networks. Design/methodology/approach The study cross‐fertilizes research on internationalization of international new ventures, opportunity development of entrepreneurs and innovation devel...

In the present study, we contribute to research on firm growth in three particular ways. First, we demonstrate that firm growth is inherently about change and thus should be approached using processual methods. Secondly, we suggest that firm growth consists of interlaced behaviours to act on or enact an opportunity that form the generative mechanis...

Purpose – The study examines the roles of external facilitation in the internationalization process of high-tech firms. Methodology/approach – The study elaborates on the roles of external facilitation through a case study of two small high-tech firms that took part in a partly governmentally financed facilitation program. Findings – The study illu...

Research on entrepreneurship has suggested entrepreneurial phenomena to take place in a wide variety of contexts that deal with new venture emergence. Opportunity discovery and effectuation are seen as the essence of entrepreneurship. The present study examines entrepreneurial behaviour in the organising of an international joint venture (IJV) in P...

This paper examines the roles for managing in business nets. The roles are studied by applying an initial conceptual framework built on network management research and role theory. The study empirically grounds the framework by using the case of a new mobile service development net. The article answers the question of what are the managerial action...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine why retailers' perceptions of the value of a novel technology‐intensive mobile advertising service differ. Design/methodology/approach The research design follows an abductive approach. The empirical data were gathered through a field experiment by interviewing retailers who used a mobile advertising...

This paper examines the use of social relationships in the organizing of a business network in the case of an international joint venture (IJV) developing over time. The organizing process and the multicultural setting of the international joint venture emphasize the actions of and interactions between individuals from various organizations. The IJ...

Entering foreign markets is often seen to be a big challenge for small firms due to the small amount of resources available for internationalisation. However, through interpersonal networks, firms can gain access to, as well as, mobilise external resources to aid the initiation of internationalisation. Thus, to understand small firm's international...

In connection with advances in wireless technology, mobile advertising (m-advertising) has been identified one of the most promising potential business areas. Even though it offers revenue-generating opportunities for a number of different actors, the possibilities have not been utilised or studied. The purpose of this paper is to explore what kind...

Although there is, until now, a considerable amount of academic literature cumulated on project business firms, the diversity of the firms is not well recognized. Knowing industrial business relationships to be typically based on wide variety of interactions between buying and selling firms, we emphasize the influence of customers on the implementa...

In connection with the advances in wireless technology, mobile advertising has been named as one of the most promising potential business areas. Even though it offers revenue-generating opportunities for a number of different actors, the opportunities have not been utilised or studied. The purpose of the paper is to explore what kind of business ne...

In this article we build a conceptual framework for studying growth of high tech firms relying on two often separately used theoretical discussions. On one hand, we use the entrepreneurial opportunity creation perspective that suggests that entrepreneurs build their new ventures in a complex process of opportunity creation. This perspective lays co...

This study is about value creation in an emerging context of technology intensive professional services. The purpose is to examine what kind of value advertisers derive from a mobile advertising service that is still being developed. The research design followed is a grounded theory approach and the empirical data were gathered through in-depth int...

According to the current view, any business relationship consists of two levels; firstly, the interpersonal level i.e. human beings as actors and secondly, the organisational level i.e. companies as organisational actors (see Håkansson, 1982). However, for research aiming to analyse the relationship development this perspective may not provide a ri...

This paper examines emergence of international new ventures and their attempts for rapid evolvement of global business activities through examination of three intertwined, network based processes. Specifically we aim to find out how the business of technology-driven international new ventures evolves over the very first years of operation. We build...

This paper addresses the topic of internationalisation of business education, particularly in the Finn- ish context. It is argued that in order to succeed when teaching business in a foreign language, one cannot see the internationalisation of education merely as a matter of "just switching the language". Teaching in a foreign language poses a grea...