Our research activities aim to be constantly on the cutting edge of business life and to provide research-based information that can be used to address current business challenges. In our research, we cover a wide range of themes, such as digital and sustainable business models, innovative and entrepreneurial solutions, the utilization of knowledge capital and international networked business. Many companies are also partners in our teaching work, giving students fresh insights into key issues in their business. Our goal is to be by far the best university partner for companies that work with us in terms of our attitude and expertise.
Mika Ruokonen
How to harness data, analytics and AI in business?
What’s going on?
Today, every company is a data company, whether they know it or not. Mastering data has become a critical competitive advantage of the modern firm. Further, harnessing of sophisticated analytics and AI technologies can help companies to drive innovation, growth, productivity improvement and business renewal. New digital technologies are making their way to the critical core operations of the firm.
How do we contribute?
LUT Business School helps companies to analyze data and build algorithms to practical use cases of firms. We educate business professionals who have data thinking as default. We also work to de-mystify data, analytics and AI and help companies to get maximum benefits out of their assets.
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Mika Ruokonen
Adoption of artificial intelligence picks up speed through education and engagement
Iintegration of AI should focus on more than just the technical implementation. Employees play a key role in putting the change into effect.
How to create future-proof organizations and business models?
What’s going on?
As the world moves ahead in full speed, no company can stay still. Virtually all of them are on a continuous transformation journey, in which they need to re-think their capabilities, competences, organization and business models to meet the changing needs of their customers and business. Today, it is not the big eat the small, but fast that eat the slow, when companies strive to grasp new emerging business opportunities.
How do we contribute?
LUT Business School helps companies to identify gaps in their organizational capabilities and find paths to organizational learning and renewal. We also work with companies to innovate future-proof business models that meet the new requirements of the market e.g., with regards to sustainability, servitisation and data.
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Kirsimarja Blomqvist
How to build and manage networks, ecosystems, and platforms?
What’s going on?
Business is moving from “me-me-me” to “we-we-we” as value is increasingly created not in one firm alone but instead in networks and ecosystems of several companies together. With platforms, networks and ecosystems, companies can level up their game, for instance scale their business without heavy assets, manage the entire workflow of the customer, engage customers to act, and increase company valuation.
How do we contribute?
LUT Business School works to map value creation, commercial models and management considerations in a networked economy. We help companies to see and capture the opportunities in their given industry and value chain through partnering and collaboration.
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What’s going on?
Instead of tangible assets such as offices and machines, value in modern firms is increasingly accumulated in the intangible assets such as knowledge, continuous learning, social capital, and trust. These intangible assets require a paradigm shift in attitudes, behavior and investments emphasizing dynamic organizing of innovation, creativity, teamwork, experimenting and resilience over hierarchy and control.
How do we contribute?
LUT Business School helps companies to future-proof their knowledge management and collaboration practices within and between organizational boundaries. Future competitiveness is about augmented intelligence and continuous renewal of the collective knowledge generated from internal and external networks.
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Kirsimarja Blomqvist
How to boost international business and entrepreneurship?
What’s going on?
Whether large or small, companies typically wish to scale up and expand their businesses in the global markets. Various types of venturing are being tested and implemented, including direct investments, exporting and importing, as well as partnerships and networking. Typically, internationalization of today requires mastering of entrepreneurship, sales and marketing, digitalization and data, as well as business model innovation and collaborating with other companies so that foreign markets and customers can be accessed successfully.
How do we contribute?
LUT Business School helps companies to innovate internationalization strategies that produce tangible results from small start-ups to large multinationals. We research the changing contexts of entrepreneurship and international business, focusing especially on megatrends of digitalization and sustainability.
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International Entrepreneurship Challenge
The International Entrepreneurship Challenge (IEC) Programme provides organizations (new ventures and corporate new ventures) in Finland with the opportunity to engage a team of MSc students in their final year of study at the LUT Business School.
How to enable sustainability and circularity in business?
What’s going on?
In today’s world, we all have shared responsibility to think of the business from the sustainability point of view. We are facing major challenges in climate change, loss of biodiversity and overconsumption, just to name a few. A major shift is currently happening as businesses are moving from a profit-driven approach towards a purpose-driven one, thus maximizing the value of all stakeholders in the society.
How do we contribute?
LUT Business School works with companies to help them to understand their current impact on the environment, people and society, and then move towards more sustainable operations, ways of working and business models. We build deeper understanding of e.g., circularity, equality and wellbeing for companies to benefit from. In addition, we conduct research on sustainable consumption and sustainability communication.
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Laura Albareda
Laura Olkkonen
Package-Heroes explores sustainable packaging solutions and introduces the voice of businesses to political decision-making
The Package-Heroes project, funded by the Strategic Research Council (SRC) of the Academy of Finland, studies and develops eco-friendly, commercially viable food packaging solutions that meet consumer needs.
How to create sustainable supply management and resilient supply chains?
What’s going on?
In the global and increasingly complex economy, sustainable supply management and resiliency of supply chains has become major issues in many industries. Sustainability of sourced materials and capability to deliver is often not guaranteed and various disruptions are common. To overcome these challenges, companies need to create various alternative paths in their supply chain to ensure efficiency, sustainability and business growth.
How do we contribute?
LUT Business School works with companies to identify opportunities, risks and bottlenecks in their supply chains and to find sourcing strategies, practices and technologies that can be used to develop sustainable sourcing and resilient supply chain functions and strategies. These areas may be more specifically related to e.g. procurement practices, sustainability practices, risk management, sourcing strategies, collaboration models, or the use of data and analytics in supply chains.
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