GenZ – Economic Resilience

How is resilience realised at individual, organisational and regional levels?

Our resilience research focuses specifically on questions related to economic resilience. Increasing digitalisation shapes the economy, and we examine how digital solutions can strengthen the ability of people, organisations, businesses and regions to adapt to economic change. We are also interested in what potential roles new technologies can play in the development of resilience. We study how human resilience is impacted by technological development, especially in the labour markets.

• Riepponen, T., Moilanen, M. & Simonen, J. (2023). Themes of resilience in the economics literature: A topic modeling approach. Regional Science Policy and Practice, 15(2), 326–356.
• Simonen, J., Herala, J. & Svento, R. (2020). Creative destruction and creative resilience: Restructuring of the Nokia dominated high-tech sector in the Oulu region. Regional Science Policy and Practice, 12(5), 931–953.

How do individual and regional factors affect intra- and inter-regional labour mobility at different stages of the industry’s life cycle?

Under this theme, our research focuses on the high-technology labour markets in Finland. We are interested in individual and regional factors that affect intra- and inter-regional labour mobility. We also take into account different stages of the industry's life cycle. Studies are based on the datasets managed by Statistics Finland.

• Simonen, J., Svento, R., Karhinen, S. & McCann, P. (2018). Inter-regional and inter-sectoral labour mobility and the industry life cycle: A panel data analysis of Finnish high technology sector. In B. Biagi, A. Faggian, I. Rajbhandari & V. A. Venhorst (Eds.), New frontiers in interregional migration research, Advances in Spatial Science (pp. 151–179). Cham: Springer.

How can regional and cross-border smart specialisation strategies support the development of innovative activities?

Regional and cross-border smart specialisation strategies can support the development of innovative activities and hence regional economic growth. Our research focuses on a methodology that can be useful for identifying a shared vision of research domains within and across regions.

• Moilanen, M., Østbye, S. & Simonen, J. (2021). Machine learning and the identification of Smart Specialisation thematic networks in Arctic Scandinavia. Regional Studies, 56(9), 1429-1441.
• Report: Cross-border cooperation on innovation - A joint taskforce

What kind of social norms can be seen in online labour markets?

Our research delves into the intricate web of influences that affect individuals' productivity in the online labour markets. We aim to gain insights into the factors that mould online work behaviours, as well as comprehend the emergence and reinforcement of unspoken norms in these online workspaces. A significant aspect of our investigation revolves around the pivotal role that psychology plays in this context, particularly in relation to how an individual's personality traits and emotional states intertwine with their approach to online labour. Furthermore, we are interested in the connection of personal preferences and online labour market outcomes. By examining these preferences, we aim to shed light on how they contribute to shaping the nature of work in the online realm. Beyond this, we are dedicated to understanding the notable influence that behavioural biases exert on issues such as discrimination, as they can have significant implications for the dynamics of online labour environments. In essence, our research not only seeks to unravel the complex threads that determine online labour behaviour but also recognises the vital role that psychology plays in shaping these behaviours, reflecting the nuanced interplay of personality, mood and emotions.

• Mourelatos, E. (2023). Does mood affect sexual and gender discrimination in hiring choices? Evidence from online experiments. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 106: 102069.
• Manganari, E., Mourelatos, E., Michos, N. & Dimara, E. (2022). Harnessing the power of defaults now and forever? The effects of mood and personality. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 26(4), 472–496.
• Mourelatos, E., Giannakopoulos, N. & Tzagarakis, M. (2020). Personality traits and performance in online labour markets. Behaviour and Information Technology, 40(10), 1–17.

How global megatrends together with the changing industrial structure affect the growth of the Arctic regions and their ability to adapt to sudden changes in the economy?

Global megatrends, such as the growing role of the service sector in the economy, and changing industrial structure affect the growth of the Arctic regions. We are interested in how this development can be supported by regional policy measures. Our goal is to provide valuable information about successful and less successful practices in the Arctic regions and thereby provide policy recommendations for the future. Regional effects are analysed from the viewpoint of regional resilience.

• Simonen, J., Moilanen, M., Kotila, J., Lohtander, J., Westin, L., Hersinger, A., Østbye, S., Riepponen, T. & Svento, R. (2023). The COVID-19 pandemic and regional economic resilience in northern Finland, Norway and Sweden – bouncing back or not? Arctic Yearbook 2023, 246–269.
• Simonen, J., Moilanen, M., Westin, L., Hersinger, A., Østbye, S., Riepponen, T. & Svento, R. (2021). The COVID-19 pandemic and regional economic resilience in Northern Finland, Norway, and Sweden – A pre-study.

Asymmetric venture capital fund and regional resilience (Thesis in Finnish)

Master's thesis by Jemina Kotila

Resilience refers to the ability of different actors to anticipate, recover from and adapt to various disturbances. This thesis studies the effects of regional venture capital (VC) fund on regional resilience. Besides regional factors, regional resilience is comprised of resilient workers and firms. Therefore, in this thesis, resilience is also studied at the individual and organisational levels. Regional VC fund seems to benefit the region in many ways through entrepreneurship. One of its most important effects relates to the development of a vital startup-ecosystem. VC fund enables the start of new businesses and the spread of information. It also helps firms to attract funding from other sources. All this development promotes regional resilience.

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Exploring gig economy literature: a topic modelling approach

Master's thesis by Joona Lohtander

Gig economy refers to the growing phenomenon of work consisting of short-term tasks, which are paid per task. The gig economy also often offers flexible working arrangements. The gig economy is a complex and evolving phenomenon and understanding the growing literature on it can be challenging. In this Master’s thesis topic modelling is used to find latent topics in the scientific literature on the gig economy. Furthermore, trends in the topics are assessed and opportunities for future research are identified. The trends in the distribution of topics seem to highlight the recent emergence of “local gig platforms”, in which work is mediated through online platforms but done on-site.

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Entrepreneurial risk and resilience

Master's thesis by Essi Maalismaa

This thesis studies the risks of entrepreneurship and the resilience of entrepreneurs. Risks cannot be avoided in entrepreneurship. Thus, studying the risk attitudes of entrepreneurs and the effect risk attitudes have on their success is crucial. Risks also make resilience important as it is vital for the entrepreneur to be able to recover quickly from any adverse situations and setbacks that the risks might result. Entrepreneurs are often considered resilient because the nature of entrepreneurship requires ability to survive challenging circumstances and learn from them to be better prepared in the future. However, there is no evidence of all entrepreneurs being highly resilient or resilience guaranteeing entrepreneurial success. Resilience rather increases the probability of becoming an entrepreneur and assists in survival during difficult times. Because risk attitudes and resilience are extremely difficult to measure, the future research should not be focused solely on the measurement but rather on how to support and improve entrepreneurs’ risk management and resilience.

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• Report: Arctic 5 cities and COVID-19 pandemic – Record-breaking summer for domestic tourism
• Report: Arctic 5 cities and COVID-19 pandemic - Change in visits to retail and recreation places
• Report: The COVID-19 pandemic in the Arctic 5 cities - Economic effects and recovery

Jaakko Simonen works as an associate professor at the Department of Economics, Accounting and Finance in Oulu Business School. His current research focuses on studying resilience at various levels (individual, organizational and regional), regional smart specialization, the inter-regional and inter-sectoral labour mobility and roles of the industrial structure and innovation ecosystem in regional growth.

Cross-border cooperation in the arctic regions is also one of his research interests. In 2018-2019, he was the chair of the cooperation project between the Arctic 5 universities and respective cities, known as The Cross-Border Cooperation on Innovation – A Joint Taskforce. He has published, e.g., in Regional Studies, Journal of Urban Economics, Papers in Regional Science, The Annals of Regional Science and International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business.

During his career, he has been working as a visiting researcher at the University of Reading, UK, the University of Waikato, New Zealand and the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. He has been involved in the administrative duties of the University of Oulu (Research Assessment Exercise 2007) as well as in Oulu Business School (e.g., AACSB Accreditation project). He holds a Doctor of Science degree in Economics from the Oulu Business School.

See Jaakko's researcher profile.

Vaggelis Mourelatos (PhD, Department of Economics, University of Patras; Master’s degree in Business Engineering, National Technical University of Athens) is a researcher at the University of Oulu, Finland. His current research interests are in the areas of experimental economics, behavioural economics, online labour markets and micro-econometrics. He focuses on the determinants of online working behaviour, the emergence and enforcement of social norms, the role of preferences on labour market outcomes, and the effect of behavioural biases on discrimination. Vaggelis’ work has appeared in various journals such as Interacting with Computers, Behavior and Information Technology, Netnomics, and Southern East Journal of Economics.

Visit Vaggelis' homepage.

Jemina focuses on the concept of resilience in the labour market context. She is especially interested in individuals and their role in the bigger picture. Are some people more resilient naturally? Do resilient individuals automatically form resilient organisations? Can regional resilience be promoted via resilient individuals? The main emphasis of Jemina’s research is to deepen the understanding of the elements behind and connections between individual, organisational and regional resilience.

Jemina's Master's thesis (in Finnish)

Joona studies the association of risk attitudes and resilience. Are risk lovers more resilient and if yes, what is the mechanism behind it? Although these two concepts have similar elements behind them, the connection is still somewhat ambiguous. Besides risk association, Joona is also interested in the gig economy and the resilience of entrepreneurs and people working in fast growing firms. In his Master’s thesis, Joona used topic modelling to find latent topics from gig economy research literature.

Joona's Master's thesis

Rauli Svento is professor emeritus of economics at the Department of Economics, Accounting and Finance in Oulu Business School. His main research interests are in environmental and energy economics, regional economics, and health economics. He is developing the creative resilience concept with the GenZ resilience team. He has headed the department and served as dean of the school and vice president of the university.

See Rauli's researcher profile.