Who we are?

Bridging Research and Reality, the core community brings together four distinct voices that collectively drive this national hub. Each participating institution is actively involved in shaping and contributing to the community, while the overall community-building effort is coordinated and led by the Centre for Collaborative Research (CCR).

Aalto University

Open Strategy: Pioneers in transparency, inclusion, and the digitalized practice of strategy.

OpenStrategy.fi

University of Turku 

Collaborative Research: Specializing in bridging business and society through impactful co-creation.

CCR Turku 

Tampere University 

Experience Economy: Shaping the Nordic Experience Economy Ecosystems for meaningful impact.

Experienceeconomy.fi


Noren Consulting

"Bridging theory and practice: translating academic findings into ways of working and learnings for strategy professionals

Noren.fi

Internationally, we are part of Openstrategynetwork. The community is anchored by world-class scholars, including Eero Vaara, Professor at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and Visiting Distinguished Professor at Aalto University. His work focuses on how communication and narratives construct organizational reality

BIOs of our contributors 

Frank Martela: An assistant professor at Department of Industrial Engineering & Management at Aalto University and project PI, Frank is an expert in human motivation and meaningfulness whose research explores how decentralized organizations can best unleash human potential. | LinkedIn

Eero Vaara: A Professor at Oxford’s Saïd Business School and Visiting Professor at Aalto, Eero is a world-renowned scholar specializing in how narratives and communication construct organizational reality during strategic change. | LinkedIn

Jukka-Pekka Heikkilä: An impact-driven scholar based in University of Turku, currently focusing on AI Delphi as open strategy tool and researching participatory festival cultures. | LinkedIn

Aki Koponen: Research Director at the University of Turku’s Centre for Collaborative Research, Aki specializes in business renewal, innovation dynamics, and the strategic impact of digital business disruptions. | LinkedIn

Heini Merkkiniemi: A Doctoral Researcher at Tampere University Experience Economy Program, Creative Industry CI Agent and consultant, Heini specializes in inclusive strategy making empowered by the CI drivers . | LinkedIn

Mia Leppälä: A Postdoctoral Researcher at Tampere University and Visiting at Aalto University, Mia’s research focuses on the intersection of digital communication tools and open strategy to understand how emerging technology reshapes modern organizing. | LinkedIn

Jaakko Luomaranta: The strategy lead at Noren and a PhD researcher at the University of St. Gallen, Jaakko specializes in making strategy more humane and adaptive, having co-authored Finland’s first definitive book on open strategy. | LinkedIn

Pilvi Posio: Senior researcher at the University of Turku’s Centre for Collaborative Research. Pilvi’s research focuses on the social practices that shape intra- and interorganizational change, culture, and interactions from social scientific perspectives. LinkedIn

Jori Mäkkeli: An Aalto University PhD researcher and consultant, Jori is dedicated to questioning traditional hierarchies by studying post-bureaucratic organization design and participatory development. | LinkedIn

Team´s march 2025 seminar dinner with the team and keynote Violetta Splitter from University of Oxford