The moderating effects of service solution characteristics on competitive advantage

The objective of this study is to improve the understanding of the moderating effects of service solution characteristics on competitive advantage of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). This study is among the first to systematically operationalize the contingents in the absorptive capacity construct as service solution characteristics, that is, intangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability, and perishability, and tested them in the KIBS sector. Using a sample of 327 new technology-based KIBS firms in Finland, a hierarchical multiple regression analysis is applied to test the hypothesized moderator effects. The results suggest that service solution characteristics moderate the effects of the antecedents on absorptive capacity and the effect of absorptive capacity on competitive advantage. Guidelines are provided to practitioners to deal with projects with different service solution characteristics.     

Trading firms in the services sectors: comparable evidence from four EU countries

We establish a set of stylised facts for trade and trading firms in five market services sectors using comparable firm- and activity-level data from four EU countries. Our analysis shows that exports account for much lower shares of overall sales in the services sectors than in manufacturing. This is because fewer firms are engaged in trade in the services sectors and also because within particular sectors firms trade a lower share of their sales on average. Services producers trade mostly goods, but in terms of value, trade in services is much more important to them than to manufacturers. Larger and more productive firms are more likely to be two-way traders and to engage in both goods and services trade. Trade by services firms is somewhat less dominated by firms that both export and import than trade by manufacturing firms. Few firms export many services or to many countries. The value of services exports is increasing in the number of markets served but not necessarily in the number of services traded.     

Development of Finns’ price knowledge after the changeover to the euro

This longitudinal study examines the 2002 changeover to the euro in Finland in order to find out how long it takes consumers to learn grocery prices in the new currency. We are especially interested in the influence of age on the process. We used price estimate data and market price data, with six data-collection points over 5 years, the first one just before the changeover and the last one 5 years after it. As expected, consumer price knowledge was clearly weaker immediately after the changeover than during the era of national currency. However, it has not improved significantly in 5 years. The probable reasons for the decreased price knowledge are the diminution of nominal values brought by the changeover (1 euro equals approximately 6 Finnish marks) and general indifference to prices, especially low ones, brought by the increasing standard of living.     

THE RELOCATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR AUSTRALIAN WOOL

The marketplace for Australian wool relocated from London to the Australian capital cities in the half-century after 1880. This represented a major institutional shift that underpinned the development of the Australian economy and made Australia the centre of the international wool market. We analyse the principal demand and supply changes underlying this market shift. Consolidation of worsted manufacturing, demand diversification, improved transport and communications, Australian dominance of international wool production and the growth of the small grazier, shifted the relative market efficiency in favour of Australian auctions.     

Export product range and economic growth in the EU countries

We analyse the number of different HS8 products in the EU countries’ exports in 1995–2015. We review what share, or coverage, of the total possible number of these products the countries have exported each year. The EU15 countries have typically witnessed a slow rise in this coverage rate, that is, a widening of their extensive margins. The exception is Finland where the share has declined considerably. On the other hand, Ireland, Greece, Portugal and the new member countries have seen a dramatic increase in their export product coverage. We analyse how the development in the coverage rate and, as a comparison, the diversification of exports as measured by the Herfindahl–Hirschman index are associated with GDP per capita growth. We find that changes in the former measure are positively associated with economic growth after we have controlled for GDP per capita catching‐up as well as investment and export activity. We also find that smaller EU economies do not specialise more than large ones in their exports as could perhaps be assumed.     

A framework of disruptive sustainable innovation: an example of the Finnish food system

Disruptive innovations are perceived necessary for accelerating sustainability transitions. However, it is not always clear what exactly is meant by it, what is to be disrupted, and by whom. Socio-technical transition research on pays too much attention at the technological niche-innovations in the production, and overlooks business model innovation and user practices in the consumption, whilst management literature on disruptive innovation falls short in the scale and scope of disruption in terms of systemic outcome. Thus, the first aim of the paper is to synthesise the extant literature and put forward a general practice-based view on disruptive sustainable innovation. The second aim of the paper is to use empirical data to elaborate the theoretical framework in the Finnish food system context. Four firm-level cases provide empirical scrutiny to each type of disruptive sustainable innovation in the food system and shed light on the interlinked practices of producer-entrepreneurs and citizen-consumers.     

Institution Building and Variation in the Formation of the Australian Wool Market

The relocation of the wool market from London to the major Australian port cities from the late nineteenth century required the formation of an institution to govern the auction business, namely the wool brokers' association. Regional variations, among Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, occurred in the structure and effectiveness of the institution despite each regional association having been formed around the same time, for the same purpose, and with an overlap of participating firms. We draw on institution theory to guide our account and find that the impact of legacy factors and differences in market conditions explain the regional variations.     

Consumer versus citizen preferences in contingent valuation: evidence on the role of question framing*

Rather than individual consumer preferences, responses to referendum‐style contingent valuation surveys on environmental goods may express citizen assessments that take into account benefits to others. We reconsider the consumer versus citizen hypothesis with a focus on the role of framing information. Survey data on conservation areas in Ilomantsi, Finland, are used. Different versions of the valuation question were used to encourage the respondents to take the consumer or the citizen role. The citizen version expectedly resulted in substantially fewer zero‐WTP responses and protests and higher mean and median WTP, suggesting that the framing information has a major effect on the preferences expressed. The findings support the idea of multiple preferences. For a more confident interpretation of contingent valuation responses, future studies should recognise their intended use in survey design and gain information about respondents' motives to determine the presence and type of altruistic motives.