Papers by Sanna Joensuu-Salo
Journal of Enterprising Culture
This study examines the effect of digital capability on firm performance and firm growth. We appl... more This study examines the effect of digital capability on firm performance and firm growth. We apply the resource-based view and especially its expansion of the dynamic capabilities perspective to illustrate how digital capability is positively related to firm performance and firm growth, and how firm size is a relevant factor in explaining digital capability in incumbent SMEs. The context of this study is Finnish SMEs. The data were gathered from 242 SME owner-managers and analysed with structural equation modelling. The results show that smaller firms have less digital capability than larger SMEs and that smaller firms struggle with performance indicators. Digital capability is positively related to firm performance and firm growth. Our results indicate that although several factors explain and alter the course of firm growth, digital capability can boost the opportunity creation process, and aid survival in the face of competition. Digital capability is an important resource in SME...
Journal of Finnish Studies
Entrepreneurship is a multifaceted phenomenon that has a vital role in Finnish society. It has be... more Entrepreneurship is a multifaceted phenomenon that has a vital role in Finnish society. It has become a top priority in national government policies because of its significance as a driver of economic growth, creativity, and innovation. The crucial role of entrepreneurship has also been reflected in educational policies. The research field of entrepreneurship education has increased substantially during the last fifteen years. Several studies reveal the significance of entrepreneurship education, the essential elements of entrepreneurial learning, and the impact of entrepreneurship education on students' entrepreneurial competences. According to a number of studies, teachers play a crucial role in enhancing students' entrepreneurial competences. Collaboration between universities and businesses has been evoked as a good practice in entrepreneurship education. Nevertheless, there is still a great need for research on the relationship between the teachers in charge of entrepre...
European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship competence (EC) has received considerable attention in Europe, particularly afte... more Entrepreneurship competence (EC) has received considerable attention in Europe, particularly after the European Commission published the EntreComp framework in 2016. EC can be defined as a competence for life, relevant to personal development and fulfilment, finding and progressing in employment, as well as initiating new ventures ranging from community campaigns, social enterprises to new start-up businesses. There is a need to develop EC of European citizens, and especially in higher education context, but little is known about the factors shaping EC. The objective of this research is twofold: (1) to examine the relationship between entrepreneurial role models and entrepreneurship competence of higher education students, and (2) to examine the relationship between motivation and entrepreneurship competence of higher education students. The data (n=1373) was gathered from two Finnish universities, and respondents represent first year students in versatile study fields. In this rese...
Vaasan yliopisto, Nov 2, 2020
Journal of Finnish Studies
The economic growth of Finland and the well-being of Finnish society are heavily based on entrepr... more The economic growth of Finland and the well-being of Finnish society are heavily based on entrepreneurship. Hence, it is important to foster entrepreneurial intentions among students in higher education. Entrepreneurial intentions have been extensively studied in entrepreneurship research for the past twenty years, and most research applies Ajzen's (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in the context of entrepreneurial intentions. However, there remains a demand for research: studies employing the full TPB model are rare, and the biggest research gap lies in longitudinal settings. This article contributes to entrepreneurial intention research by examining the TPB model in a longitudinal follow-up of the same individuals from a point during their university studies, to between one and four years after graduation. In addition, the impact of entrepreneurial education on entrepreneurial intentions requires more research and longitudinal settings. My article contributes to this res...
Entrepreneurship Research Journal
The aim of this study is to test how different dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) aff... more The aim of this study is to test how different dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) affect the growth and performance of SMEs in the short term in a rapidly changing business environment. In addition, a scale for measuring EO is tested in the SME context. The data (n = 260) was gathered from Finnish SMEs, and analyzed with structural equation modelling. The results show that EO has two dimensions in SMEs: innovativeness and risk-taking. Proactiveness and innovativeness measure the same phenomenon. Results show that innovativeness has a significant and positive effect on SME performance but not on SME growth. Risk-taking, in turn, has a positive effect on SME growth but not on performance. However, the relationship depends on how growth and performance are defined. Further, the results showed that EO should be seen as multidimensional and be measured by two lower-order dimensions reflecting managerial behaviors and attitudes. This study contributes to theory formation by sh...
Raportissa kuvataan Suomen Metsäkeskuksen ja Seinäjoen ammattikorkeakoulun toteuttamassa Puutuote... more Raportissa kuvataan Suomen Metsäkeskuksen ja Seinäjoen ammattikorkeakoulun toteuttamassa Puutuotealan kasvuhankkeessa vuosina 2016 - 2018 toteutettujen esiselvitysten tulokset. Hanke on saanut rahoitusta Manner-Suomen maaseudun kehittämisrahastosta. Esiselvityksissä on tuotettu tietoa puutuotealan pk-yritysten kasvua ja kilpailukyvyn kehittymistä varten. Niissä on selvitetty 1) markkinaorientaation ja markkinointikyvykkyyden nykytilannetta ja vaikutusta puutuotealan pk-yritysten kasvuun ja menestymiseen, 2) kansainvälistymisen tavoitteita, mahdollisuuksia, esteitä ja hyviä toimintamalleja etelä- ja keskipohjalaisissa puutuotealan pk-yrityksissä, 3) digitalisaation nykytilannetta puutuotealan pk-yrityksissä, 4) mahdollisuuksia kansainvälistymiseen Ruotsin markkinoilla puurakentamisen alalla ja 5) uusimpia tutkimustuloksia pk-yritysten kasvuun ja menestymiseen vaikuttavista tekijöistä puutuotealan yritysten hyödynnettäväksi. Raportin ensimmäisessä osassa tarkastellaan puutuotealan til...
Tämä tutkimus on toteutettu osana Pk-Digi- ja Digivaattori-hankkeita vuosina 2016 - 2017. Tutkimu... more Tämä tutkimus on toteutettu osana Pk-Digi- ja Digivaattori-hankkeita vuosina 2016 - 2017. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää eteläpohjalaisten yritysten digitalisaation tasoa ja mahdollisia esteitä, digitalisaation vaikutusta yrityksen menestymiseen, yritysten digitaalista osaamista ja digitalisaatiosta saatuja hyötyjä. Kyselytutkimuksen pohjana hyödynnettiin syyskuussa 2015 Durhamin yliopiston ja BMG Research -tutkimusorganisaation julkaisemaa tutkimusta pk-yritysten digitalisaation kyvykkyyksistä. Kyselytutkimukseen vastasi yhteensä 110 pk-yritystä eri toimialoilta. Kyselytutkimuksen lisäksi syventävää tietoa haettiin haastattelututkimuksen avulla, johon osallistui kymmenen teollisen alan pk-yritystä. Päätuloksena voi todeta, että digitalisaatio näkyy vielä kohtalaisen huonosti eteläpohjalaisissa pk-yrityksissä. Vain muutamat yritykset ovat kehittäneet toimintojaan digitaalisiksi. Digitaalisuutta ei kovin paljon hyödynnetä myöskään tuotteiden ja palveluiden myynnissä. Digital...
Ammattikasvatuksen aikakauskirja, Dec 21, 2020
Sciences B. Reports 105, 103 p. The TOP project, administered by Vocational Education Centre Sedu... more Sciences B. Reports 105, 103 p. The TOP project, administered by Vocational Education Centre Sedu and financed by the ERDF, studied employment, participation in further studies and entrepreneurship among young people who had graduated from Vocational Education Centre Sedu, as well as their opinions about how the contents, entrepreneurship pedagogy, and learning methods of their training meet the needs of working life. There were two groups of respondents: those who had graduated one year before (year of graduation 2012-2013) and three years before (year of graduation 2010-2011). Moreover, the project explored the development of the students' entrepreneurial intentions as a longitudinal study from the period of studies until the period after graduation. The aim of this follow-up study was to find out: 1) how the students had succeeded in finding employment after graduation, 2) how the training had met the needs of working life, as well as 3) what the graduates thought should be improved in their training. Another aim was to find out how the students' entrepreneurial intentions change when moving to working life and to collect feedback from the students in working life for the future development of entrepreneuri-al studies and the different pedagogic methods used in them. The graduates' follow-up data is based on a total of 894 respondents. The graduates from Vocational Education Centre Sedu have been successful in finding employment, and the most of them have settled in South Ostrobothnia. The graduates of the field of Social Work and Health Care have been the most successful in finding employment, while those of Natural Resources rank second. The respondents are satisfied with the training provided by Vocational Education Centre Sedu, and they feel it meets the needs of working life. Overall, the respondents' entrepreneurial intentions had remained at the same level as during their study period.
Journal of Enterprising Culture, 2019
Despite a growing scholarly interest in performance measurement systems (PMS) for collaborative n... more Despite a growing scholarly interest in performance measurement systems (PMS) for collaborative networks, the literature highlights the success of co-operation from the buyer’s perspective, with far less attention given to the supplier’s perspective (Yeniyurt et al., 2014). In addition, only limited empirical research has been conducted on PMS in small and medium-sized enterprise networks (Bititci et al., 2012). This study investigates how information sharing and supplier integration in a buyer-supplier relationship (BSR) affect suppliers’ performance in the context of small firms. Information sharing includes both providing information (to a buyer) and receiving information (from a buyer). According to the results, neither BSR integration nor information sharing are associated with suppliers’ overall or financial performance. However, BSR integration showed a positive association with suppliers’ non-financial performance. Moreover, information sharing (both providing and receiving)...
Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship
Purpose This paper aims to examine the growth rates of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)... more Purpose This paper aims to examine the growth rates of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) over a three-year period, the relationship between firm size and firm growth in the context of SMEs, and the effect of marketing capability (MC) on firm growth and how it relates to firm size. The theoretical framework is based on the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered from Finnish SMEs (n = 214) and analyzed with Latent growth curve modeling (structural equation modeling). Respondents were chief executive officers or company owners. Findings Results show that firm size is unrelated to the rate of change, and MC has a significant effect on both the intercept and slope parameters. Smaller SMEs have less MC than larger SMEs. Practical implications While the overall human resources level of the SME is not linked to the rate of growth, MC is. This is an important point for small business growth studies, for it shows what type of pers...
<jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Purpose</jats:t... more <jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Purpose</jats:title><jats:p>The European Commission has published a general framework of entrepreneurship competence (EC), EntreComp, to create a shared definition and support its development. This study proposes and tests a scale to measure EC based on the EntreComp framework and examines its relation to start-up behaviour using data from seven European countries.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Design/methodology/approach</jats:title><jats:p>The data were gathered from seven European countries and consist of 1,128 answers from both secondary and higher education level students. The authors use explorative factor analysis (EFA), analysis of variance and logistic regression analysis as data analysis methods.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Findings</jats:title><jats:p>The results show that EC is related to start-up behaviour and sensitive to role models and prior experience of entrepreneurship but is not sensitive to gender or level of education. The results also show that although the framework proposes three distinct areas, EC is unidimensional.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Originality/value</jats:title><jats:p>The study tests the EntreComp framework and introduces a scale for measuring EC based on the framework. The results show that EC can be addressed as unidimensional construct and that it explains start-up behaviour and develops through enterprising activities. The study also shows the impact of role models on EC. No difference in EC between genders is observed, suggesting the gender differences in entrepreneurship arise from factors other than competence.</jats:p></jats:sec>
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Papers by Sanna Joensuu-Salo