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Dear reader,
The current issue of the Nordic Journal of Business consists of two peer-reviewed articles. The first article by Laura Arranz-Aperte, Hanna Silvola and Eva Ström examines the association between different CSR reporting practices and firm performance using data on Finnish firms. In the second article, Anna-Maija Lantto and Juha Mäki examine banks’ fair value estimates in different investor protection environments across 26 European countries.

I hope you enjoy reading these two interesting articles.

Sami Vähämaa
Editor
Nordic Journal of Business

Laura Arranz-Aperte, Hanna Silvola and Eva Ström – The Association between Different CSR-Reporting Practices and Firm Performance

Anna-Maija Lantto and Juha Mäki – Perceptions of Banks’ Fair Value Estimates in Different Investor Protection Environments

The whole issue can be found here

Dear Reader,
This issue of the Nordic Journal of Business features two peer-reviewed articles. In the first article, Samuli Knüpfer examines the prevalence and importance of privately held firms in Finland and documents patterns and trends in their ownership. The second article by Markus Fütterer, Marc Steffen Rapp and Michelle Schlosser focuses on technology-motivated acquisitions of non-tech firms and introduces a novel approach for identifying such acquisitions.

I hope you enjoy reading the interesting articles included in this issue of the Nordic Journal of Business.

Sami Vähämaa
Editor
Nordic Journal of Business

 

Samuli Knüpfer – Ownership of Privately Held Companies in Finland, 2006-2022

Markus Fütterer, Marc Steffen Rapp and Michelle Schlosser – Technology-motivated Acquisitions and the Real Option Portfolio of Non-tech Firms

The whole issue as a PDF can be found behind this link.

The current issue of the Nordic Journal of Business features two peer-reviewed articles. In the first article, Juha P. Kinnunen, Anu Puusa and Heli Hallikainen focus on the concept of individual resilience in organizations by conducting a conceptual analysis of articles published in peer-reviewed journals. The second article by Pirkko Jaatinen and Salme Näsi addresses the diffusion of information technology innovations in financial accounting by examining the main arguments and rhetorical strategies used to promote these innovations in professional accounting journals.

I hope you enjoy reading the interesting articles included in this issue of the Nordic Journal of Business.

Sami Vähämaa

Editor

Nordic Journal of Business

Juha P. Kinnunen, Anu Puusa and Heli Hallikainen – Individual Resilience in Organizations in the Business Context: A Conceptual and a Bibliometric Analysis

Pirkko Jaatinen and Salme Näsi – On the Use of Arguments and Perspectives in Diffusing IT-Related Innovations in Financial Accounting: An Analysis of Articles in Professional Accounting Journals

Click here to access the entire issue as a pdf.

This issue of the Nordic Journal of Business includes two peer-reviewed articles. The first article by Reeta Jutila, Asif Ruman and Petri Sahlström focuses on sustainable investing practices among Finnish asset managers. In the second article, Kari Tuovinen reconstructs the purchasing history of Professor Pentti Kouri’s contemporary art collection and investigates the use of these artworks as loan collateral.

I hope you enjoy reading the interesting contributions featured in this issue of the Nordic Journal of Business.

Sami Vähämaa

Editor

Nordic Journal of Business

Reeta Jutila, Asif Ruman and Petri Sahlström – The State of Sustainable Investing Among Asset Managers in Finland: A Survey-Based Study

Kari Tuovinen – Professor Kouri’s Art Collection: Purchasing Process, Collecting Mode, and Use of Artworks as Loan Collateral

Click here to access the entire issue as a pdf.

The current issue of the Nordic Journal of Business features two peer-reviewed articles. In the first article, Anu Puusa, Pasi Tuominen, Timo Tammi and Terhi Tuominen focus on the effect of trust and satisfaction on customers’ commitment towards their co-operative membership in the Finnish retail sector. The second article by Hanna Silvola, Jan Mouritsen and Jari Huikku investigates how financial analysts use goodwill information in firm valuation.

I hope you enjoy reading the interesting articles included in this issue of the Nordic Journal of Business.

Sami Vähämaa

Editor

Nordic Journal of Business

Anu Puusa, Pasi Tuominen, Timo Tammi and Terhi Tuominen – The Effect of Trust and Satisfaction on Customers’ Commitment towards Their Co-operative Membership in the Finnish Retail Sector

Hanna Silvola, Jan Mouritsen and Jari Huikku – The Usefulness of Goodwill Information to Financial Analysts: A Qualitative Approach

The entire issue as PDF can be found here.

Guest Editors’ Letter

Building for the Future: Advancing Nordic Business Education

Finnish universities are committed to research-based education, and business education is no exception. Traditionally, this has been interpreted that the content of what we teach—be it for example finance, accounting, management, human resources, or marketing—should be derived from current research in the respective fields. In other words, the substance of education is expected to reflect the advancements and discoveries made through scholarly inquiry.

While incorporating research findings into the curriculum is essential, it is also critical to examine whether the pedagogy used in teaching is also based on research. The reasoning behind this is that good teaching is about more than just transmitting knowledge. It is about enabling the students to understand, apply, and create through trial and error processes. It is about constructing a positive and safe space that fosters deep learning and transformation. Research in higher business education plays a vital role in addressing this. By grounding teaching practices in research, business educators can ensure that the learning environment is supportive in fostering critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and a deep understanding of the content matter.

We had the privilege of facilitating a track titled “The Future of Nordic Business Education” at the 2022 Nordic Academy of Management Conference in Örebro, Sweden. The track featured a diverse group of business educators and researchers presenting their research on business education. We are pleased to showcase three of these studies in this special issue of the Nordic Journal of Business. Each paper presents a unique viewpoint and contributes to the evolving discourse on fostering business education.

In the first article, Helena Kantanen, Leena Penttinen, Päivi Rosenius, and Katri Ruth examine the “first-year experience” of business students during the COVID-19 pandemic. While prior research has demonstrated the pivotal role of the first year in integrating students into the academic community, the context of the pandemic offers a unique lens to understand this engagement or the lack thereof. The authors recommend that business educators place greater emphasis on the first-year experience. This can be achieved by fostering a genuine sense of community and belonging, nurturing trusting relationships with teachers and staff, bolstering students’ self-direction and academic study skills, providing flexible study modes, and leveraging students’ advanced digital skills.

The pandemic also inspired the second article, in which Mona Enell-Nilsson, Minna-Maarit Jaskari, and Päivi Borisov examine competence development from a student’s perspective. Using a user innovation course as their context, they compare how the transition from a predominantly face-to-face and blended learning mode to a fully online mode influenced students’ perceptions of their competence development. The longitudinal data spans five years, encompassing both quantitative and qualitative student data – three years prior to the pandemic and two years during it. The authors discuss how three underlying factors – roots and premises, freedom and independence, and social connectedness and support – appear to shape perceptions of competence development more than the teaching mode itself.

The third article shifts its focus from early business studies to the later phase of career-readiness. Sari-Johanna Karhapää and Mirjami Ikonen delve into the mentoring process, specifically examining trust in the mentoring relationship from the mentor’s perspective. While trust has been recognized as a pivotal element in a successful mentoring process, its evolution is not thoroughly understood. In their study, the authors employ qualitative interviews and a narrative approach to comprehend how trust evolves throughout the different phases of the mentoring process. Their findings highlight that a mentor’s competence of listening and hearing, combined with socioemotional communication skills with benevolence, and actions that demonstrate integrity, are vital in fostering trust. The authors underscore the significance of mentoring programs in enhancing business students’ career-readiness.

Although all three articles differ from one another, they all emphasize the significance of communication, social interaction, and guidance in student learning, well-being, and career-readiness. These articles undoubtedly provide food for thought, especially in the current context of business education development. In this environment, there is a push to shorten the duration of studies, increase the annual number of study achievements, transition courses online, and scale them for larger student populations.

We hope you find these articles both engaging and thought-provoking.

 

Minna-Maarit Jaskari and Jenni Kantola

Guest Editors

Nordic Journal of Business

 

Research Papers

Helena Kantanen, Leena Penttinen, Päivi Rosenius and Katri Ruth – Where is My Community? First-Year Experience of Business Students during the Pandemic

Mona Enell-Nilsson, Minna-Maarit Jaskari and Päivi Borisov – Students’ Perception of the Development of Generic Competencies in a User Innovation Course Context – A Longitudinal Study Comparing Different Teaching Modes in Higher Education

Sari-Johanna Karhapää and Mirjami Ikonen – Trust during the Mentoring Process from the Mentor’s Perspective

The entire issue as a PDF can be found here.

This issue of the Nordic Journal of Business includes two peer-reviewed articles. In the first article, Henri Teittinen and Valtteri Bovellan investigate analytical capabilities in the adoption of business intelligence and analytics. The second article by Mika Vaihekoski and Habeeb Yahya examines whether firms’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance is associated with financial performance in the Nordic countries.

I hope you enjoy reading the interesting contributions featured in this issue of the Nordic Journal of Business.

Sami Vähämaa
Editor
Nordic Journal of Business

Henri Teittinen and Valtteri Bovellan – Challenges in the Adoption of Business Intelligence and Analytics: A Case Study from the Perspective of Analytical Capabilities

Mika Vaihekoski and Habeeb Yahya – ESG and Firm Performance: Evidence from the Nordic Countries

The entire issue as PDF can be found here.

The current issue of the Nordic Journal of Business features two peer-reviewed articles. The first article by Vijay L. Burman, Markus Mättö, Mervi Niskanen and Hannu Ojala investigates the relationship between corporate governance and tax aggression in the Finnish high tax alignment environment. In the second article, Eeva-Mari Ihantola, Timo Hyvönen, Niina Koivunen and Arttu Äijälä examine accountants’ perceptions about the benefits and challenges of full-time telecommuting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I hope you enjoy reading the two articles included in this issue of the Nordic Journal of Business.

Sami Vähämaa

Editor

Nordic Journal of Business

Vijay L. Burman, Markus Mättö, Mervi Niskanen and Hannu Ojala – How Does Corporate Governance Affect Tax Aggressiveness? Evidence from Finland

Eeva-Mari Ihantola, Timo Hyvönen, Niina Koivunen and Arttu Äijälä – Accountants in a Telecommuting Laboratory: Individual Experiences of the Benefits and Challenges in Helping Organise Post-Pandemic Work

You can find the entire issue here.

This issue of the Nordic Journal of Business includes two peer-reviewed articles. In the first article, Anna Rossi and Petri Sahlström examine the role of corporate cash holdings and expected future cash flows in equity issuance decisions. The second article by Kari Huhtala, Pasi Tuominen and Terhi Tuominen provides a systematic review of different factors of board governance in co-operative firms.

I hope you enjoy reading the interesting contributions featured in this issue of the Nordic Journal of Business.

Sami Vähämaa
Editor
Nordic Journal of Business

Anna Rossi and Petri Sahlström – Cash Shortfall as a Predictor of Equity Issuance Decisions: The Role of Current Cash Holdings and Expected Future Cash Flows

Kari Huhtala, Pasi Tuominen and Terhi Tuominen – Factors in the Board Governance of Cooperatives: A Systematic Review

You can download the entire issue here: PDF

This issue of the Nordic Journal of Business includes two peer-reviewed articles. The first article by Mansoor Afzali and Jukka Kettunen focuses on the social networks of directors in privately-held Finnish and Swedish firms and examines whether well-connected boards influence firm performance. In the second article, Anna-Mari Simunaniemi, Martti Saarela, Matti Muhos, Santeri Halonen, Eeva Leinonen, Heli Kurikkala and Markus Rytinki investigate
short-term crisis management among solo entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I hope you enjoy reading the interesting articles included in this issue of the Nordic Journal of Business.

Sami Vähämaa
Editor
Nordic Journal of Business

Mansoor Afzali and Jukka Kettunen – Boardroom Centrality and Firm Performance: Evidence from Private Firms

Anna-Mari Simunaniemi, Martti Saarela, Matti Muhos, Santeri Halonen, Eeva Leinonen, Heli Kurikkala and Markus Rytinki – Short-Term Crisis Management of Solo Entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The whole issue as PDF can be found here