Anne Jalkala (Project Director) D.Sc. (Tech.) is Professor of Industrial Marketing in the Department of Industrial Management at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). Professor Jalkala’s special fields of expertise comprise solution and project business, industrial buyer-seller relationships, and customer reference marketing. Anne Jalkala’s doctoral thesis Customer Reference Marketing in Business-to-Business Markets was passed with honors and received the Mika Kaskimies award from the Society for Viipuri School of Economics in 2009. Professor Jalkala’s work has been published in several academic journals including e.g. Industrial Marketing Management and the European Management Journal.
Jari Salo (Project Director) D.Sc. (Econ. & Bus. Adm.) is Professor and Head of the Department of Marketing at the University of Oulu. His research focuses especially on industrial marketing and on the development of business logics in industrial markets. Professor Salo has more than 110 academic articles to his name and is an editorial member of several academic journals. He has acted as Research Director and a researcher in several projects funded by the Academy of Finland and the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES) including Rotuaari, Pear, Fummas, Ceit, Deccmac, Nextmedia and E-sales. Over 100 Finnish companies have received new ideas for developing their business during these projects.
Lassi Linnanen D.Sc. (Tech.) is Professor of Environmental Economics and Management in the Department of Energy and Environmental Technology at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). He is also Head of the Degree Programme in Environmental Technology at LUT, and Head of Laboratory of Environmental Technology and Management. Professor Linnanen’s special field of expertise includes sustainable innovations, corporate responsibility strategies and climate policy. He has had several academic articles published e.g. in the Journal of Business Ethics and Business Strategy and the Environment.
Risto Soukka D.Sc. (Tech.) is Professor of Environmental Technology, especially life cycle modelling in the Department of Energy and Environmantal Technology at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). Professor Soukka’s special field of expertise includes life cycle assessment, life cycle cost assessment, system analysis and emission control. He has deep experience in life cycle modelling due to several research projects in which he has been involved and the large number of theses what he has steered.
Juha Väätänen D.Sc. (Tech.) is Professor of Innovation Management in the Department of Industrial Management at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). Professor Väätänen’s special field of expertise includes innovation management in Russia, transitional economies, and new business ventures in transitional economies and in emerging markets. He has had several academic articles published in journals e.g. the International Journal of Innovation Management, International Journal of Business Excellence and International Journal of Technology Marketing.
Joona Keränen (Project Manager, M.Sc. Tech.) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Industrial Management at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). His dissertation focuses on customer value assessment in solution-oriented business markets, aiming to develop a systematic framework for demonstrating the delivered customer value. Joona is expected to defend his thesis around spring 2013. His other research interests include industrial branding and the marketing of complex projects and solutions. He has been published in international conference proceedings (e.g. Academy of Marketing Special Interest Group Brand Conference, Industrial Purchasing and Marketing Conference).
Tuula Lehtimäki (M.Sc. Econ. & Bus.Adm., M.Sc. Tech.) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Marketing at the University of Oulu. Her dissertation examines the challenges of launching industrial products. Tuula’s other research interests include commercialization, co-creation, and green marketing in the business-to-business context. She had earlier worked as a researcher in the Ceit and Deccmac projects (TEKES) and has been published in international academic journals (e.g. Industrial Marketing Management) and conference proceedings (e.g. the European Marketing Academy Conference).
Ilkka Ojansivu (M.Sc. Econ. & Bus. Adm.) is a doctoral candidate and lecturer in the Department of Marketing at the University of Oulu. He is also an MBA lecturer at the Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics. Ilkka is preparing his dissertation on business relationship development during extended project supply process in service intensive project business and will defend his thesis in late 2013. His other research interests include value co-creation in project buyer-seller relationships and sleeping relationships. He has also worked as a researcher in the Deccmac project funded by Tekes. Ilkka has presented his research at the International Project Management conference in Lille, France (19.8.2009), is published in several conference proceedings (SEM 2009, GBATA 2010, TIIM 2011) and has collaborated with Griffith University in Australia (12.2010-4.2011).
Kaisa Grönman (M.Sc. Tech.) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Energy and Environmental Technology at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). She is working on her dissertation on sustainability issues of packages and packaging design. Her research interests also include life cycle assessment and design for environment. Kaisa has co-authored conference articles concerning life cycle assessment and currently has a journal article under review in Packaging Technology and Science.
Minna Oinonen (M.Sc. Tech) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Industrial Management at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) and a researcher in the Cleantech Solutions project. She is working on her dissertation on co-creating successful industrial solutions together with customers. Her other research interests include value creation in a network context and social media marketing. During her master’s studies, Minna has covered a wide-ranging technical subject in environmental technology. She is published in international conference proceedings (Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Conference and Business Market Management Conference) and has written a Master’s Thesis on value creation in a value network in the context of a complex solution innovation.
Markus Jääskeläinen (M.Sc. Tech.) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Industrial Management at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). He started work on his dissertation in September 2011 and is scheduled to defend his thesis in early 2015. The doctoral thesis will focus on collaborative innovation with lead-users from emerging markets. Markus’s main research interests include the drivers and factors for firm-level competitive advantage and the business environment in emerging economies. Prior to taking on his current task Markus worked as a research assistant at Lappeenranta University of Technology and has solid experience in forest industry production and brewing industry sales.
Samuli Patala (B.Sc. Tech.) is working on his Master’s thesis in the Department of Industrial Management at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). It focuses on the customer value proposition of one of Outotec’s technology solutions. His thesis project started in September 2011 and is scheduled for completion by the end of March 2012. In his Master’s studies, Samuli majored in industrial marketing and also studied energy and environmental technology. He has previous job experience in the energy and pulp & paper sectors.
Reetta Hiltunen (B.Sc. Tech.) is working on her Master’s thesis in the Department of Industrial Management at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). Her thesis focuses on assessing the environmental value of Kemira’s offerings. The thesis project started in January 2012 and is scheduled for completion by the end of June 2012. In her Master’s studies, Reetta majored in environmental technology and also studied industrial management. She has previous job experience in the environmental sector.
Katja Pääkkönen (M.Sc.) is a master student in the Department of Marketing at the University of Oulu. She is working on her Master’s thesis describing the co-creation of innovative solutions with lead users. The thesis project started in October 2011 and is going to be completed by the end of May 2012. Katja has a university degree of geosciences and previous work experience in environmental duties. Her research interests also include sustainable marketing.
Päivi Peltoniemi (B.Sc) is a master student in the Department of Marketing at the University of Oulu. Päivi is working on her Master’s thesis to identify new innovative water treatment applications and services for the mining industry. The aim of the thesis is to understand chemical suppliers’ value creation potential in the mining industry. The interest of the study is in developing new service concepts and understanding customer value. The thesis began in November 2011 and will be completed by the end of June 2012.
International key experts:
Bernard Cova D.Sc. (Management) is a Professor in Marketing at Euromed Management, Marseilles and Visiting Professor at Bocconi University, Milan. He is a distinguished professional in the field of value co-creation within the solution business context. He has for 20 years worked on the development of an industrial marketing approach to assist companies selling projects, systems, and complex services. Professor Cova has had several academic journal articles published in e.g. Industrial Marketing Management and the Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, and has also written a widely referred book on project marketing.