The complexity of food choices in an everyday context

This study aims to understand the complexity of food choices in an everyday household context. The qualitative data are based on homemakers’ (n = 18) context‐specific accounts of their choice of milk brand, i.e. milk varieties with different fat contents (noted in a 4‐day qualitative food diary and a semi‐structured interview based on the diary). These accounts were considered an approximation of real food choices in households. The necessity of making compromises between contradictory expectations makes food choices, as well as milk brand choices, problematic. The homemakers' accounts involve various levels affecting household activities. At the individual level, the most important motive of choice is the taste and practical use of a product. At the level of households, the traditions stemming from one's childhood and the social aspect of acknowledging other family members’ taste preferences are important. The influence at the level of society and culture leads towards healthier choices, e.g. by providing examples of new, healthier food habits. Here, the special nature of everyday knowledge is emphasized as context dependent. This provides a complementary view to the more traditional, cognitive views of studying the relationship between knowledge of nutrition and food choices. Choices are determined not only by stimulus, cognition or societal structures, but are also constrained by everyday conditions, as well as by the activities of other people.     

The value added by government venture capital funds compared with independent venture capital funds

Government venture capital (GVC) funds have been a common policy initiative in European countries to overcome funding gaps in the promotion of early-stage ventures. In this work, we focus on the performance of such government funds. We compare the importance for the firm's development of post-investment, valueadded activities by GVC firms and independent venture capital (IVC) firms.We use a unique data set based on the results of a survey addressed to young high-techVC-backed firms from seven European countries. The survey gauged the importance of the contribution by the first lead investor in a variety of activity areas, as assessed by the investee companies. Attention was paid to potential adverse effects of the post-investment engagement of investors.Using a composite indicator of the value added, we find no statistically significant difference between the two types of investors. However, the profiles of value added differ across investor types, and, in particular, the contributions of IVC funds prove to be significantly higher than those of GVC funds in a number of areas, including the development of the business idea, professionalisation and exit orientation.     

Living up to the Expectations Set by ICT? The Case of Biotechnology Commercialisation in Finland

This paper examines the dynamics and bottlenecks in the commercialisation of biotechnology in Finland by using the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry as a benchmark. The paper considers both ICT and biotechnology within the dynamic life-cycle model of technological revolutions by Perez. For an empirical comparison, it applies the concept of a 'competence bloc' as an interpretive and focusing device. A competence bloc may be defined as a set of actors, functional competences, and institutions that are necessary for large-scale commercialisation and industrialisation of new emerging technologies. In spite of the many differences between the ICT and biotechnology industries, the comparison serves as a heuristic device for pinpointing important features in the framework conditions of commercialisation in biotechnology. The paper shows that a major bottleneck in the development of the biotechnology industry in Finland is the scarcity of industrialists to transform innovations into large-scale production.